Love :or Hate: at First Sight
by Shiningheart of ThunderClan
Summary: Yay, yet another story! There are twenty three contestants on the island instead of twenty-two. Follow my OC, Flare, through a series of hatred, to friendship, to romance, with the most unlikely person of all. First chapter is only the prologue.
1. Chapter 1

_Name: Kyran Irefore_

_Nickname: Flare_

_Likes: Arguing and Fire_

_Dislikes: People who can't take a joke._

_Most Known For: Flare is more known for her sarcasm than anything else. She can hold an hour-long conversation with nothing but sarcasm._

_Why she auditioned: She heard her cousin was going to be there, and she thought it would be fun to scare the living death out of all the people chosen._

_Other: Flare believes there are two kinds of hobbies in the world. The ones people know you for, and the ones you don't want anyone to find out about. Her outer hobbies are: sarcasm and arguing. Flare wants people to leave her alone, so she makes things as difficult as possible. It's not that she hates other people. She just needs some alone time to do her inner hobbies. Her inner hobbies include singing and daydreaming. No one really knows she daydreams, and whenever she has to sing in front of people, she purposefully tries to shatter everyone's ears with her fake horrid voice._

_Flare doesn't really know any self-restraint, and so sometimes pisses off the wrong people._  
_She's been in the principal's office more times than she could count at school, but somehow is always let off the hook. Probably because her parents pay off the school to let her stay. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention her family is stinkin' rich? I did? Oops, my bad. Well, the Irefore family is stinkin' rich. Her mother is a lawyer and her father is a psychiatrist. He always tries to psychoanalize her, and Flare hates that._

_Audition tape:_

**_The tape opens to show Flare, a 16 year old girl with blonde hair and red highlights, laying on a windy hillside. Her eyes were closed, and it seemed she was unaware of the watching camera. A stick appeared in the picture, and began poking the female in the face._**

**_"Dude, she's so going to kill us." whispered a male voice._**

**_The camera didn't move from the girl, and neither did the stick. "You mean, she's going to kill me. You're completely safe." This voice belonged to a female. The stick began to move in circles, making Flare's face comically bunch up._**

**_Flare groaned a bit and turned away from the probing wooden object of doom, batting at it weakly with a hand. "Knock it off, dude." she murmured without opening her eyes. "'M tryin' ta' sleep."_**

**_"Hey Flare." said the voice in the camera. "Smile, chicky, cause you're on film."_**

**_Bright green eyes flashed open and Flare quickly sat up, turning with wide eyes to stare at the camera. For a few seconds, the only sound was the sighing of the wind. Finally... "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Flare roared, launching herself at the camera._**

**_The one with the camera yelped and started to run. The screen bobbed up and down, the sounds being filled with gleeful laughrer and angry snarls. The camera was thrown to the spectator, who held up the camera to watch the chase going on. Flare was chasing a girl with brown hair and red highlights, all the while swearing angrily._**

**_The camera shifted upwards and a smiling male face with red hair and blue eyes appeared. "Howdy, people of TDI! I'm Blaze, the girl doing the chasing is Flare, and the one with a death wish is Ember. Please, consider bringing Flare in. As you can see," he pointed the camera back to where Flare had caught Ember and was now beating her to a pulp, "life is never boring around idiots."_**

Chris and the other producers of the new tv show stared at the blank screen, a few jaws dropped. Chris turned to Chef, who was at his side, and gave an almost evil smile. "Chef, my friend, I think we just found our final candidate."


	2. Meeting the jerk

I sighed and put my head on my fist in boredom. Really, could this boat ride get any worse? _'No, wait._' I thought to myself. _'Yes, it could. That moron I'm forced to call a brother could be here.'_ I shuddered at the thought before lifting my head at the foghorn of the boat. An island was coming into view now.

"Hey girly!" yelled the driver from the wheel. He flinched lightly at my glare but continued anyway. "That's where you're stayin'!" My glare didn't leave his figure. He started shifting, almost like my gaze unnerved him. "Don't look at me, look at the island!" I still didn't move my head. The man began sweating and backed up a pace. "What do you want from me!?"

My sudden grin must have thrown him off a bit. "Nothing, really. Just wanted to creep you out." I couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up and out. On its own accord, my body turned to face the quickly approaching island, the wind blowing my waist-length hair behind me. It was a fair island. Not too big, but big enough to register on a map. But...I took the brochure out of my bag and did a few double takes. "Oi!" I shouted to the driver. "You sure this is the place!"

The driver nodded without looking at me. "Yeah, got the map right here." He drove into the dock.

Almost as soon as my feet touched the deck, a geeky dork stood in front of me, a creepy smile on his face. "Why, hello there." He said, attempting to be smooth. That was kind of an epic failure, since his voice cracked. "My name is Cody, but you may call me sexy."

My first reaction was to punch him and tell him off, but I had a better idea once I saw a bruise forming on his face. I let out a soft gasp. my eyes opening wide. "Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" I lightly touched the bruise on his face. "How could anyone do that to someone as cute as you?"

His face started to go beat red and his next words were stuttered. "D-do y-you-" but I cut him off.

"Oh wait, I'm sorry!" I pretended to apologize. "That came out wrong. Please, allow me to rephrase that." At his weak nod, I smirked. My voice became dull and scornful, border-line bored. "Don't care. Now get out of my way." I walked straight past him, shoving him with my shoulder. I approached Chris, the one I was told would host this little show. He was bent over, holding his stomach in an attempt to control his laughter. "Yo, dude!" I called, flashing him the peace sign.

Chris straightened himself, wiping away an imaginary tear. "And here is our final candidate, Kyran!"

Within two seconds, I had a fistful of his shirt and hoisted him in the air. My glare was different from the one I gave the driver. This one promised a slow and painful death. I should know, I've perfected it on my friends. "My name..." I growled out, "is Flare. No one here will call me anything besides that, or will have to be removed from the island for immediate medical attention. And that includes the host."

I can't believe I just made a grown man whimper. Alright! I let Chris drop to the ground and turned to find the cousin I loved so much. Hm...Dark skin...Facial Hair...Gawking and slightly fearful face...A sadistic grin stretched across my face as I finally recognized him. He pointed a shaking finger at me, his mouth working to make audible words. "F-Flare!" He squeaked.

My grin widened a bit at his feminine sound. But I noticed one thing that changed about him....No, I'm not talking about the cowardice that's pretty much seeping off of his skin. I'm talking about.... "My god, you've gotten buff." Was my greeting.

Two great big arms suddenly swept me into a rib crushing hug. "Duuude!" yelled a voice in my ear. "This is going to be SSSSSOOOOO sweet!!" Unfortunately, I didn't have the air to reply. The one attempting to murder me by suffocation didn't seem to notice my face going from normal to blue to purple.

At least until a resounding _thwap _sounded behind me. I dropped unceremoniously on the floor, flopping around like a fish. "Gah, air!!!" I gasped deeply. I dimly heard a commotion behind me; probably someone scolding whoever tried to kill me; but I didn't bother to listen. I liked living too much, so I filled my lungs with the air I could.

I felt a hand begin to rub my back, trying to help my air passage. "You okay?" asked a concerned female voice. When I caught my breath and looked up, I saw a surfer chick with blond hair and green eyes. I nodded mutely, causing a breath of relief from more than just one person.

Someone grabbed the back of my shirt and picked me up to my feet. I turned to see DJ, my beloved cousin, glaring at a fat guy with blonde hair and a red hand print on his face. I lifted my hand to anyone who could see. "Whoever slapped that beast off of me, I thank thee very much."

"No problem girl." Said a girl with black hair and brown skin. She didn't turn as she glared at the fat one as well. "Just what was going through that mind of yours?" She asked him sarcastically. "You could have killed her!"

The fat one pouted. "I was thinking about making a new friend!" He looked over her shoulder (which probably wasn't very hard for him) to give me an apologetic face. "I'm sorry if I almost killed you. My name is Owen."

I smiled at him. He was too nice to stay mad at. I learned everyone's name after that. Here's a list:

Fat man: Owen (TOO HAPPY!!!)  
Goth Chick: Gwen (She's a'ight.)  
Chick that saved my ass: Leshawna (*sings angel chorus* my savior!)  
Crazy chick: Izzy (I think she's my favorite so far)  
Conceited chick that scares the crap out of little children: Heather (Hate her already)  
Stupid prep (And I mean REALLY stupid): Lindsay  
Somewhat geeky chick: Beth (She just....looks weird)  
Cool guy: Trent (I want...his shirt. It's awesome!)  
Nerdy as hell guy: Noah (Lazy bum...)  
Hottest guy ever: Justin (Hello hotness!!)  
The dude that hit on me: Cody (*grin* He is so going to be made miserable)  
Surfer chick: Bridgette (She's awesome.)  
Scary chick that could kill a bear-tiger-lion hybrid with her bare hands: Eva (*shudder*)  
Goody-goody chick: Courtney (Really don't like her...)  
Fat chick: Sadie  
Skinny chick that has the same outfit as Sadie: Katie (Heh, they rhyme...)  
Athlete with no athleticism: Tyler  
Meh cousin(But I already knew him): DJ  
Juvie punk: Duncan (Oh, he's going to be fun to mess with...)  
Party dude: Geoff  
Geeky dude: Harold  
Moron with the hat: Ezekiel (Dammit, how do you pronounce his name?)

Oh joy, this is going to be so fun! Can anyone else sense the sarcasm? "Alright, group photo!" Chris shouted. He started shifting us around, and I ended up, somehow, between Sadie and Katie. They started crying that they weren't next to each other. And OH MY GOD, I have NEVER wanted to hurt anyone as I did then.

At about the third, "But I want Katie/Sadie!" I released an animalistic snarl and literally threw Katie into Sadie. And trust me, that girl is not as light as she looks! As they squealed and gushed, I launched myself at DJ's back, wrapping my arms around his neck in an attempt to stay on his back. "You are now my mule." I said in a tone that gave no room for argument. I gave a disgusted sigh as the sweat on his neck soaked into my sleeves. 'He is so paying for dry-cleaning after this.' I growled to myself.

Soft snickering drew my attention to the juvie brat, Duncan. Really and truly, I love that Mohawk. _'Note to self.'_ I thought. _'Ask him how the HELL he did that.'_ But for the moment, his laughter annoyed the hell out of me. "And just what, may I ask, is so funny?" I growled, glaring at him. "Aside from the fact that, you know, you look like a porcupine with all the piercings."

My jab didn't seem to phase his smirk. "Just the fact you've got that dude whipped." He nodded his head to DJ, standing impeccably straight and shivering slightly.

In a brief attempt to calm him down, I patted his head awkwardly, trying to hold on to his monstrous size at the same time. "Chill, cuz." I offered, smiling the friendliest smile I could muster as he turned his head to look at me from the corner of his eye. "I swear, I won't pick on you the entire stay here." DJ visibly relaxed and hoisted me further up his back, helping my grip very much. "Thanks dude!"

I turned my head to continue my conversation (cough argument cough), but a sudden creaking from the dock pulled everyone's attention down. My face got pale when I saw a crack running through the wood. Right under where Owen was. "Oh....hell." I muttered, right before the deck fell apart and we all splashed into the lake.

Water broke into my mouth and nose, choking me for a brief second. Immense and blinding panic flooded into my senses, and I instinctively clutched DJ's neck, possibly cutting off his air. But then suddenly we broke the surface and I gaped loudly, coughing up all the water that had tried to drown me. All the other campers broke surface right after us, Chris took the shot right then, with me clutching DJ and DJ gasping for breath, turning blue. He's out of the water, he should be...

"Crap!" I yelped, loosening my grip on his neck immensely. "Sorry Deej." I muttered apologetically. DJ took a deep breath similar to the one I took when Owen tried to crack my spine in half before smiling at me. He started to swim to the shore, where the other campers were already gathered. As soon as I knew his feet touched the sand, I dropped from behind him and caused a mini-waved to ripple around us.

Can you guess who suddenly burst out laughing? Did you guess Duncan? Oh my god, you're freaking psychic! It _was _the juvie brat laughing! "O-Oh man!" He said through laughter. "Y-You look like a poodle!"

I felt an involuntary twitch in my eye. I...HATE...Poodles. But he doesn't know that..."Aw!" I pretended to gush, lying through my teeth. Poodles...stupid rat dogs...

It was _extremely_ hard to suppress my laughter at his look. "You're insane." He said simply, stalking away to the other edge of the gathering. I rolled my eyes, leaned against a tree, and broke out my mp3 player. I'd have to show these people when I'm being sarcastic or not. No one tried to talk to me after that. I was just a silent observer of all the interactions.

Chris stood in front of us all. Most of us gave him immediate attention. He began speaking, and already I wanted to go explore. He's so...so...I can't describe it. He just has that aura that makes me want to hurt him! ...Okay, that may just be because I'm a violet person, but still! "This…," He gestured to the camp behind him. It was just a collection of run-down cabins and a few sheds, "is Camp Wawanakwa; your home for the next eight weeks. The campers sitting around you will be your cabin-mates, your competition, and maybe even your friends. Ya dig?"

Competition, I would live with. Friends, I'd gladly have. But...I have to live with...I glanced at Lindsey, powdering her face, and shuddered. Please, _please_, let me be in the other cabin. Chris continued. "The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest, without getting voted off, will win one-hundred thousand dollars!"

Duncan stepped forward, drawing attention to himself. "Excuse me," he said, approaching Chris, "What will the sleeping arrangements be? Cause I'd like to request a bunk under her." He jabbed a thumb to Heather.

Heather looked disgusted. Can't blame her, can I? Who would want to sleep anywhere near, insert shudder here, _him_? "They're not co-ed, are they?" She asked in a disgusted tone.

_'Oh, I hope they are.'_ I thought to myself, scooting a bit closer to DJ and eying Justin's who was eying himself in a compact...That sentence was so wrong in so many ways.

Chris answered with a strange look on his face. "Nooo...Guys get one half, girls get other half." I felt a pout cross my lips, but I pushed it back down. I'd get over it in about three...two...one...Oh, look at that, I'm already over it!

Lindsay, I think her name was, raised her hand. Hooray for pretending we're in school during the summer! Not. "Excuse me, Kyle! Can I have a cabin with a lake view, since I'm the prettiest?"

.....Okay, truly, I think she's going to be my main mode of entertainment. Truly, TRULY, she is an idiot. I barely heard Chris's reply over my mental laughter. "Okay, you ARE, but that's not how it's going to work here. And, it's Chris." He added with a smile.

The twins, Sadie and Katie, started hugging each other. "I HAVE to be with Sadie, or I'll die!" Said Katie, the skinny and tan one.

Sadie started to nod in agreement. "And I have to be with Sadie, or I'll break out in hives! It's true." She nodded, sounding far too sure of herself to know if she was lying or not. And that wasn't something I was happy about, cause I know when someone is lying to me!

Gwen, on the edge of my hearing, muttered under her breath, "This cannot be happening!"

If she was trying to be discreet, she had failed miserably. This was proved when Owen pulled her and the jock into a hug, similar to the one that almost cost me my life on the deck. "Aw, come on guys!" He exclaimed, a grin on his face. "It'll be fun! Like a giant sleepover!"

Tyler shot a nervous look over Owen's squishing arm. Also on the edge of my hearing, he whispered to Gwen, "At least you don't have to sleep next to him."

I followed his gaze, curiosity pricked. My eyes met Duncan giving a deer a noogie. Le gasp, the fiend! In an attempt to save the poor forest creature, I picked up a random pinecone and threw it at the back of Duncan's head. It hit dead on. Duncan's grip on the deer relaxed, letting the deer wriggle free and run away. Duncan turned around slowly, his glare promising pain in the very near future. "Who. Threw. That?" He growled out each word. Most everyone flinched away from him. I didn't move.

Okay, I did, but I didn't flinch away like they did. I stepped closer to him, my own eyes narrowed into a glare. "I did." I hissed out. Immediately, his glare snapped to me, becoming even deadlier. If looks could kill, he'd be arrested for tenth degree murder right now. "You gonna do something about it?" I dared, walking until I was within hitting range of him.

Duncan growled dangerously, bending down to meet my eyes. Damn, being vertically-challenged sucks. "If you ever throw something at me again, I will hurt you. Am I clear?"

I raised an eyebrow, silently daring him to hit me. "Ya think so?" I asked softly. My tone promised pain just as much as his glare did. At least, it would have, if a small grin didn't accompany the subtle threat.

His teel eyes darkened with threats not yet worded. "I don't think, I know."

His response only made my grin that much wider. "Wow, you know, I think you're psychic!" His unibrow rose in question. "I was just thinking you don't know either!" Funniest thing ever, a unibrow twitching in agitation. His fist clenched at his side, and I readied myself, just in case he did try to hit me.

Chris got in between us, flashing a grin at either us or the camera. "Hey now, we can't afford a law suit on the first day!" Duncan and I growled at each other one more time before turning our backs on eachother and walking away.

Instead of going back to my spot leaning against the tree, I stood between Bridgette and Gwen. Bridgette winced as she watched Duncan stalk away. "You know, I don't envy you, making an enemy this early in the game."

I shrugged off her concern, if it was concern, and turned in time for Chris to start talking. "Here's the deal! We're gonna split you into two teams. If I call your name out, go stand over there." He pointed to the spot I was just in, then listed, "Gwen, Trent, Heather, Cody, Lindsay, Beth, Katie, Owen, LeShawna, Justin, Noah, and Ky-Flare." He caught himself before saying my name. He smiled. "From this moment on, you are officially known as… The Screaming Gophers!" He said, then tossed a rolled up flag to us. I caught it, and it came unraveled in my hands. On the rag was a gopher in a fighting pose. That's....just plain wierd.

Owen, in all his massive glory, threw his hands in the air and let out a loud cheer. "Yeah! I'm a gopher!"

Under my breath, I muttered, "I'd rather be a chipmunk. So much cuter, ya' know?" I wasn't as quiet as I'd hoped I was, because I got a wierd look from Gwen and Trent. I shrugged at them in a 'what' gesture. They shrugged back and turned forward.

"Wait!" shouted Katie. "What about Sadie!"

Chris turned his back on her, facing the others. "The rest of you, over here! Geoff, Bridgette, DJ, Tyler, Sadie, Izzy, Courtney, Ezekiel, Duncan, Eva, and Harold. Move, move, move, move!"

Sadie didn't move as every shifted to the Bass side. "But Katie's a gopher! I have to be a gopher!"

One of the fish girls, Courtney I think her name was, went to Sadie's side. "Sadie, is it? Come on, it'll be okay." I mentally rolled my eyes. Some people are just too nice in these competitions.

And as I watched DJ stand between Duncan and Geoff, one thought crossed my mind. I turned to the closest person to me, Leshawna, and spoke my mind. "I'm going to die here, aren't I?"

Leshawna simply nodded, glaring lightly at the other team. "I've a feeling that juvie man is going to make sure of it, hun."

((The story will be in first-person. And I don't know the whole series play-by-play, so I'm going to have to improvise where I'm not sure exactly what happens.))


	3. This means WAR!

**I'm going to say this now. As this is first person, I won't show the other campers confessionals, only Flare's. And, also because it's first person, where the camera (aka the tv) shows parts where it's only Killer Bass, I will be making it ALL up as I go. And, as I said previously, I don't have the specific episodes playing in front of me. Also, I've not seen all of the episodes. So things may be wrong. If you've got a problem with it, then...As Chris says, not my problem. I don't own TDI. But oh how I wish I did! Then Duncan would never have gotten together with Courtney, and he would be shirtless way more often.**

I was napping up on the roof of the Screaming Gopher's cabin. It was where I had chosen to sleep. That way, it leaves the other girls to fight over who gets what bunk. And I guess I was in a pretty deep sleep, cause I was dreaming. I don't remember what I was dreaming of. The only thing I remember was the adrenaline rushing through my veins as fire raged around me. But I was jolted awake by an ear-shattering scream from inside the cabin. After that dream, I was suspecting the worst, and so slid myself through one of the windows, my hand already on the pocket knife I made sure to carry with me everywhere.

My face fell when I discovered just _why_ Lindsay had disturbed my nap. A roach. She screeched like that for a _BUG!!!_ Here's what these people shall learn in our time together. I'm a bitch when I wake up. Doesn't matter if it's morning, afternoon, deep sleep, or dozing. I am not fun then, especially when it's for a stupid reason. So I hope you'll forgive me for snapping at her. "_A_ _COCKROACH!!! YOU WOKE ME UP FOR AN INSECT!!" _I admit I could have handled that much better, especially when I saw her eyes mist over. Damn you, conscious! I was about to just go back out the window, but Duncan came in with an axe, and BAM!! Bye bye roach!

For a few seconds, all was quiet. I gazed in silent wonder, first at the cut-in-half roach, then the axe that still rested where it had split the roach in half, to the visage of Duncan grinning maniacally. "Well," Gwen stated, also grinning a bit, "That's one way to kill a roach."

Then the world ended in the form of me laughing my ass off. My sudden laughter caused a few strange looks and a few people to scoot away from me. I calmed down, wiping away an imaginary tear. I turned what was probably a very scary smile on Duncan. "Wonderful axe technique, Juvie brat."

His uni-brow twitched in annoyance. It was kind of a funny sight, because it jarred his entire face a bit. "Don't," he growled out, "call me that."

I blinked, feigning confused innocence. This ploy never failed to piss someone off. "What, Juvie brat?" I asked in a childish voice. At his stiff nod, my grin widened. "But it fits your personality so well!" His grip on the axe handle tightened, and I felt my grin widening.

Gwen sidled up to my side, eying the blade of the weapon still wedged deep into the floor board. "You know," she said with a dull tone, "It may not be the best idea to antagonize the hardened criminal with a lethal weapon."

I tore my eyes away from the axe Duncan now had in the air to grin at Gwen. "On hindsight, you may be right. But it's just so much fun pissing off the wrong people!" A sudden slam made both me and Gwen jump and swing back to look at where Duncan was supposed to be. But instead of Juvie Brat being there, we were met with air, because Duncan had just left the cabin. Even from inside the cabin, we could hear his enraged snarl. My grin stretched into a smirk. "I'm going to have fun here." I murmured to myself, looking out the window to see Sadie and Katie cowering away from a passing juvenile delinquent. "I'm going to have fun indeed."

**_At Mess Hall_**

"LISTEN UP!" Yelled the head cook of the camp. He was an intimidating figure, with his towering height and drill sergeant voice. He's going to be my third mode of entertainment, behind Lindsay and Juvie brat. "I serve it three times a day, and you WILL eat it three times a day! Grab your tray, get your food, and sit your butts down NOW!" That earned an evil smirk to anyone that could see it. I took slow deliberate baby steps toward the counter, purposefully letting all of the other campers scurry past me. I was the last to get my food, and I was still only half-way to the counter. "NOW GIRL!" _That_ got my butt moving. He splattered the slop, if it could even be called that, onto my tray.

I took a seat between Gwen and Leshawna, neither one even touching what was on the plates in front of them. Gwen took her fork and slowly poked the slop. "Okay, I hate to be predictable and complain on the first day," she said to no one in particular, "but I think mine just moved." I gave her an incredulous look before taking my knife and stabbing her food. It f'ing _SCREAMED _at me. Both Gwen and I jumped and backed away from it a little.

At that point, Chris walked into the room, smiling that familiar smile. You know, the one where you know something that will make someone want to punch you if you don't spill it. "Campers, welcome to the main lodge." He announced.

One of the Bass, the blond party dude Geoff, asked in a tentative voice, "Yo, my man, can we order some pizza?" Chef didn't take well to this suggestion, as was made obvious by the butcher knife that was sent flying toward Geoff's head. The blond ducked just in time, and came back up with his hands in the air. "Chill, chill. Brown slop is cool too, right guys?" People on both teams nodded vigorously, not wanting to be Chef's next target. I just went back to poking it.

Chris went on like one of the campers wasn't just almost decapitated by his employee. "Campers, first challenge is in ONE hour!" With that announcement, he left us to our...._food._

Once the, I'm beginning to think, psychotic host was out of hearing range, one of the Bass turned to DJ. "What do you think they'll make us do?" She asked nervously. She was even ringing her hands.

DJ's answer echoed my thought exactly. "It's the first challenge. How hard can it be?"

In one hour exactly, we both got our answers by being on the top of a VERY big cliff. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the water, not even to look at Chris when he started to explain the challenge. "Your first challenge, campers, is to jump off this thousand foot cliff!"

All was silent for a few minutes as we all looked over the edge. No one said anything as we turned back to stare at Chris as one, only to see his perfect smile. Two words escaped my mouth, words that, I'm pretty sure, echoed everyone's sentiments exactly. "Oh, shit." These two, simple words earned agreeing nods from quite a few people, while some glared disapprovingly at my language.

One of them, of course, being Courtney. "Could you _not_ curse here?" She asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes at my childishness.

I raised an eyebrow at her. I knew it was a rhetorical question, but I felt the need to be a bitch. "Oh, I'm _sorry_." I said sarcastically, emphasizing the fake apology. "Did you _want_ to jump off the thousand-foot cliff?" I took her silence as a no. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I turned my body to look at Chris. "Yo, McClain!" Chris blinked at the use of his last name. What? I use last names when I'm irritated. "There's a small issue with me jumping." At this, everyone turned to me. "I didn't bring a bathing suit."

Chris's grin didn't change. "Not my problem!"

Behind me, somewhere in the Killer Bass team, I heard Duncan whisper loudly, "Skinny dip!" Which was met with snickers by most of the guys.

A violent blush tried to overtake my features, but I beat it down with a large mental stick. I refuse to let him get the last word in! With that in mind, I turned a sickly sweet smile directly on the teen punk. "Only if you jump with me, Juvie Brat." The only response I got from him was a growl. With that, I flashed a victorious smirk to the camera and turned back to Chris.

"Okay!" He started. "Today's challenge is threefold! Your first task is to jump off this one-thousand-foot-high cliff into the lake!" We got that part already, dunderhead!

Bridgette, the surfing Bass, seemed pretty confident though. "Piece of cake." She said in a confident tone. This, coupled with the fact that I could feel Katie shaking in fear next to me, told me we were in some pretty deep trouble.

Chris went on like she hadn't spoken. I notice he seems to be good at that. "If you look down, you will see two target areas. The wider area represents the part of the lake that we have stocked with psychotic," at this point, he paused to chuckle before continuing. "Man-eating sharks." ...Say what now!?! But before I could freak out on everyone there, the host went on. "Inside that area is a safe zone. That's your target area which, we're pretty sure, is shark free."

"Excuse me?" Said LeShawna, who was next to me. Her tone was all attitude, no fear. Wow, I like her already!

For the third time that day, Chris spoke without acknowledging he was interrupted. "For each member of your team that jumps, and actually survives," I yelped out-loud here, "there will be a crate of supplies waiting below. Inside each crate are supplies that you'll need for the second part of the challenge--building a hot tub. The team with the best one gets to have a wicked hot tub party tonight. The losers will be sending someone home. Let's see... Killer Bass! You're up first!"

The rest of my team moved back since we didn't have to jump yet. I stayed with the Bass, giving DJ a twisted grin. "Good luck, DJ!" I said, adding a little cackle at the end before pretty much dancing to the rest of my team. I sub-consciously took a spot next to Trent, accidentally getting between him and Gwen. "How many of them do you think are doing to jump?" I asked both of them, the twisted grin still on my face. "I know DJ won't, he's been scared of heights since..." I hesitated, wondering if I should spill about that one incident involving horse radish and a spoon. "Well, since we were little." I finished up, looking back at the people jumping. It looked like they were still debating who would jump first.

Gwen shrugged, also looking at the team. "Not all of them, that's for sure." She replied dully. "Who would be crazy enough to do this stunt?" As one, we all looked over at Izzy, who was bouncing wildly with the Bass for her turn to jump. "Okay, I take that back."

I gave a small laugh at that. "I wish she was on our team." I said with a pout, watching Bridgette volunteer to jump first. When I looked at Trent, his eyebrow was raised in question. I could read the one-worded question working through his mind. _'Huh?' _So I answered the silent wonder. "You really think this is the last crazy stunt he's going to make us do?" Both of them sighed at my point, and shook their heads simultaneously. "How many of us are going to jump?" I asked the entire team, watching the next person, Tyler, jump.

At first, there was a silence as each person contemplated their answer. When no one spoke by the time Geoff jumped, I sighed. "I can't do it."

This got a scathing look from Heather and LeShawna. "What you talkin' 'bout, girl?" LeShawna said sharply, her black eyes narrowed. "I didn't take you as the type to be scared so easily, not after the way you talked to that Punk over there!" She motioned with her head toward the Killer Bass. I didn't have to look to know she meant Duncan.

I didn't look at LeShawna as Eva jumped next. "Scared of the man-eating sharks? No." This little bit earned surprised looks. "My lumps are in my shirt, not my pants. So the girls are safe." This got a few chuckles from my teammates. "Of the thousand-foot-high cliff dive? Only slightly. I'm not afraid of heights." LeShawna nodded at this, like she agreed with me. "Of drowning cause I can't swim?" I shuddered, closing my eyes when Duncan jumped after Eva. "Highly. I've previously had three near-drowning experiences, and so I hope you'll forgive that I'm terribly traumatized against going completely underwater."

Some of my team nodded sympathetically when DJ hesitated at the edge. Others just scoffed (mainly Heather), but said nothing as we watched my cousin. "Uh-uh." He said, shaking his hands as if to ward off the steep fall. I failed to supress an evil grin. "No way man, I'm not jumping." At this, I held out a hand behind me to Gwen for a secret low-five. I called it, didn't I?

Chris walked forward a pace or two, his hands held behind his back. "Scared of heights?" He asked with a would-be sympathetic tone, but for the grin on his would-be handsome face. My eyes narrowed at the host. What was he up to??

DJ nodded, obviously not sensing anything was wrong. Not surprising, since he doesn't seem to posses that strange sixth sense most of my direct family had. It was useful in both parent's line of work to be able to sense intentions. "Yeah, ever since I was a little kid."

I raised a hand, a guilty smile on my face. "More than probably my fault."

Chris smirked at me, and that feeling that he was up to something increased before he turned back to DJ. "Hey, it's okay. Unfortunately," his smirk widened, "that makes you a chicken. That means you have to wear this chicken hat." He put a dastardly ugly chicken hat on DJ's head. I held snickers behind my hand as DJ sulked a bit. Chris pointed to...AN ESCALATOR!?!? How did none of us notice that when we climbed this damned mountain!!!! Ooh, I'm going to kill Chris before all this is over, I just know it...

I felt so bad for him that I turned to Trent, a hopeful smile on my face. "Mind helping me with familial problems?" I asked, nodding my head toward the dejected DJ. The musician nodded and followed me to my cousin. "Just so you know," I said to DJ's back, "I feel kind of bad that you're going down the easy way." I glared at the escalater before grinning at DJ apologetically. "It's my fault you fear half the things you fear."

DJ looked over his shoulder, scrutinizing me with narrowed eyes as he measured the truth of my words. My grin softened him up a bit, and his tensed shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, you're right." I blinked at him, surprise clear in my expression. I didn't think he would agree that fact... "It is your fault I'm afraid of half the things I'm afraid of!"

I laughed at his accusing tone, border-line cackling. I made a shooing motion with my hand, my ever-existing grin stretched across my face. "Now get, ya big chicken. Your team is waiting to berate you with harsh, unmentionable words." I walked back to my team, my laughter echoing out behind me.

Trent just stood where I left him, looking back and forth between me and DJ's massive retreating form. He shook his head quickly, his hair flopping a bit before setting back into place (Man, that's cool!), and jogged up to me. "And you needed me there for what reason, exactly?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow.

I grinned at him, letting Gwen take her spot at his side. Yeah, that's right, that's now Gwen's designated spot. "Just to make DJ think I made friendly with my teammates already. I'm not known by my family, or many others, for being friendly to people I hardly know."

He made no comment as we watched the home-schooled Ezekiel jump next, loosing an echoed 'WOO-HOO'! That was cut off by a dull thud. I instinctively went forward to check if something was wrong, but Trent and Gwen held me back. "He probably just hit something." He grunted against my struggles.

I glared at him, my response a dangerous hiss. "We're jumping off a freaking thousand-foot-high CLIFF!" I hissed through my teeth. "We hear a solid thud, _solid_, meaning something you can't go through! And you're telling me not to worry!"

He met my burning eyes with his own glare. "I'm not telling you to not worry." He said calmly. My struggles lessened. "I'm telling you not to do anything stupid, like jump after him. You've already said you can't swim, right?" My struggles turned almost non-existent. "Which means you'll just have to jump with someone else. And you can't do that if you go rushing off to check on the enemy team!" My thrashing stopped until he let go of me. I pulled and looked away, a scowl set on my face. Trent snorted at me before smiling at Gwen, for no apparent reason.

But both heads whipped up when a scream echoed over us all. I glared at Trent, silently daring him to stop me going to check out the problem. I jogged near the edge and looked down, only to squeak and wince. "Harold landed on his balls." I reported back to the team. "Idiot did a split in mid-air and landed that way." All the guys winced and shielded their man-marbles. "Just don't do the splits while jumping, and ya'll may still be able to have children when this is over. Depends on how much you piss me off during our stay here." I smirked evilly at all remaining guys. They shuddered a bit. I even think I saw Chris shudder and back away from me. Yay, go me, I made a grown man cry!

Courtney looked over the edge and I waited for her to jump. But she didn't. She only shook her head and walked back to Chris, blathering on about how it was _so_ unsafe. I snorted at her, imagining several camp favorite pranks to pull on her. And possibly some originals, if she annoys me too much. Chris put a chicken hat on her head as well. Just..._one_ jab at her wouldn't make me a bad person, would it? "Wow, Courtney!" I gasped, moving out of her way as she passed me. "That is a GREAT look on you!" Her response was to turn up her nose and walk away. Yeah, real smart. Continue to watch the sky while walking on a cliff, I hope you fall off!

...Okay, maybe _that_ would make me a bad person. But she totally deserves it! She irks me so! "So," Chris said, "let's tally up the votes!" A weird look overtook his features. "Hold on, that's eight jumpers and two chickens...We're missing one!"

All heads swung toward the Squealer Twins, as I have dubbed them in my mind. They were, you guessed it, clinging to each other again. I recognized the stubborn look on both faces. It was the 'you try anything, and we will beat the brains out of you' look. "I'm not jumping without Katie!" Exclaimed Sadie. Dear gods, that's going to confuse the crap out of me...

"We have to be on the same team, Chris. Please!" Katie picked up her queue perfectly. Seriously, I think those two rehearse these things... "PLEASE!" They both pleaded. "Can we? Can we?" Two words. How can anybody get on my nerves SO MUCH with just two simple words?!?!

Apparently I wasn't the only one getting annoyed, because Izzy said, "I'll switch places with her."

Chris gave one final glare before giving in. "Alright! Fine!" He said, aggravated. "You're both on the Killer Bass side!" He looked over at Izzy. "Izzy, you're on the Screaming Gopher Team." The wonder twins squealed, AGAIN. Izzy just shrugged with a grin before coming over to our team. Chris turned back to the two girls. "That means you're up girls!"

Sadie and Katie took a running start, holding hands. "We're coming, Killer Bass!" They shouted together before jumping. They let out high-pitched squeals while jumping and both landed in the safe zone.

Chris looked down the cliff. "Alright, nine jumpers and two chickens. Screaming Gophers," I stood a little straighter when he addressed us, "if you can beat that, we'll throw in a pull cart to put your crates on!"

My muscles locked into place. I knew I couldn't do this. Fear made many people do uncharacteristic things, and chickening out was very uncharacteristic of me. "Nice." Trent said, smiling. "So, who's going first?" He questioned us all.

At first, no one answered. Then Heather spoke up. "I'm sorry, I'm not doing this." She certainly didn't SOUND sorry.

Beth, obviously, has never met Heather's type. "Why?" She asked confusedly. She put her fingers to her lips, like she was actually thinking of reasons why no one would want to jump a THOUSAND. FOOT. HIGH. CLIFF.

Heather scoffed, also thinking it was pretty obvious. "Hello? National television? I'll get my hair wet." ....Okay, that was TOTALLY not the reason I was thinking about. She should be more worried about HER surviving than her HAIR.

Gwen gave her a look of incredulity. "You're kidding, right?" She asked.

And honestly, I agreed with her. What kind of IDIOT is more worried about her HAIR getting wet? Oh, no, wait, apparently, there were two idiots there, because right after Gwen finished her question of Heather's sanity, Lindsay said, "If she's not doing it, I'm not doing it!" Then she and Heather exchanged confident grins that made me want to SEVERELY hurt the both of them.

And thankfully, at least LeShawna was sane. "Oh, you're doing it." I inched away from the threatening leer on her face. _Dang_, that girl could be freaking scary when she wanted to be!

But Heather didn't seem to be intimidated. "Says who?" She challenged, glaring down at LeShawna. And I do mean, glaring down. Heather was actually tall for a girl of her age. It depresses me that I'm so short. As soon as she said this, I backed away from the duo, sure there was going to be a cat fight.

I accidentally backed into Izzy, who grinned an insane grin at me. "Hey, Izzy heard what Flare said before about being afraid." She whispered in third person. I raised an eyebrow at her, silently urging her to go on. And she did, still speaking in third person with that maniacal grin on her face. "She's willing to jump with you, if you want her to?" A flicker of uncertainty entered her eyes, and that made my decision.

I returned her maniacal grin before throwing my arm over her shoulders. A spectacular feet, considering my diminutive size. "Izzy, Flare will be happy to have you with her." I replied, answering her third person with my own. I suddenly glared at her, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. "But she will kill you later, if you deliberately aim outside the safe zone just for the sharks." Izzy laughed a bit at that before we both turned back to the argument at hand, just in time to here Heather say, "Make me!" I gasped and stepped forward. "No, don't say-" But, alas, LeShawna already had Heather up in the air and over the edge. "-that." I finished lamely with a sigh. Trent was met with my tortured puppy-dog look. "I tried!" I whined to him, pouting.

Trent chuckled and patted my head lightly. I didn't miss the glare Gwen sent my way, so I smiled brightly at her causing the Goth to turn away and jump after Lindsay. Cody immediately followed after his 'Dark Queen', as I heard him call her over breakfast. Seriously, the dude needs a life... I looked over the edge and was pleasantly **_SHOVED_** off the cliff by Izzy, who jumped with me. She cackled madly the entire way down, going spread-eagle. I clutched at her, my shrill scream going many octaves higher than Lindsay's did that morning. Unfortunately, we got separated in the air. She landed in the safe zone, I was swimming with the fishes. **_'OH FUCK!!!'_** I thought, just as the water closed around me.

The darkness in the water was thicker than I first thought it would be. I could only see a few feet in front of me. But it was enough to see the dark shape coming at me from above, and closing in. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach, mainly because I _was_ sinking. I was speaking the truth when I said I didn't know how to swim. The figure came closer, and I got into a fighting position. I preferred drowning to being eaten alive by some damned marine mammal! But I relaxed my stance when I was able to make out Justin's distinct figures. We smiled at each other, the water not making for any talk. Justin's arms wrapped around my waist, and he brought the both of us up to air.

I gasped deeply as soon as I was able to, choking for a bit. I shivered a bit, using the cold water and air as an excuse to cuddle closer to the hot guy that saved my life just now. Justin didn't seem to mind, as his arm held me tighter. A mental squeal sounded in my mind, and I grinned goofily before remembering our situation. A shark fin was coming toward us, announcing as subtly as one of Owen's farts after an all-you-can-eat-bean-burrito-night that WE WERE GONNA DIE!! I glanced up at Justin before mentally shrugging. _'Oh well, at least I die happy!'_ I thought before sighing resignedly.

But Justin didn't seem worried too much. He gave the sharks a gorgeous smile that made the two sharks, and me, completely melt. The sharks actually ended up _giving us a ride to shore_. That's not normal shark behavior! Immediately, people from both teams surrounded us. The girls were making sure Justin was okay (As well as sending me jealous looks) while DJ held me in a protective hold, glaring dangerously over at Justin. I punched him in the chest before smiling over at Justin. "Thanks for saving me, dude!" I told him gratefully. And hey, I was grateful! He didn't have to save me! He could have let me drown, or let me be eaten by sharks! Justin returned the smile, and all the girls swooned.

Beth didn't jump. She shouted an apology down at us, but I don't think my teammates responded too kindly. LeShawna and Cody started making chicken sounds and Lindsay said something about Beth being lame. The chicken noises silenced when I glared over at LeShawna and Cody and I looked back up at Beth, who was looking a bit dejected. "It's okay, Beth!" I called up to her, hoping to cheer her up. "Don't worry, the only reason I'm down here is because **_SOMEONE_**," I glared over at Izzy, "pushed me off!" I thought I saw Beth smile before I turned my attention to the jumping Trent. He landed safely in the circle, and Gwen pulled him up into the boat. I looked away from them and back up at Owen.

Chris started talking, but I ignored him. Something was eating away at me, and I couldn't ignore it. "We have to hide." I announced firmly, walking away from the water.

A snort followed my words. "And why is that, Miss screech-at-the-top-of-my-lungs?" drawled my favorite Juvie brat. I glared at him, daring him to go on. And you know what he did? He smirked. The damn gremlin _smirked_ at me. "Don't tell me you're scared of Owen?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, shrugging helplessly. "You've seen Owen, right?" His teal eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly, waiting for my explanation. "How big of a wave to you think he'll cause?" Duncan didn't answer, but he did turn almost as pale as Gwen.

He turned to the gathered teams, uttering one word. "Hide." Before he dashed off. I smirked before walking away. Sauntering, actually. Maybe the war I was planning between me and Juvie brat wouldn't be needed after all. But none of us got very far before we were suddenly swept up in the rush of Owen's freaking **tsunami**. Dear gods, what does this boy eat to make him so _**large**_? When I finished shaking of sudden fear and opened my eyes, I was clinging to something warm, naked, and breathing. I looked up into the teal eyes of the damned Juvie brat and leapt away almost instantly. Duncan chuckled. It sounded rather evil to my ears. He leaned forward, dangerously close. "Have fun, Kyran?"

Any embarrassment I may have been feeling was burned up in the swell of rage that was caused by my name. Of it's own accord, my right fist shot out, catching him straight in the eye. His loud cursing caused the cheering of my teammates to stop momentarily, drawing attention to us. But I continued with my onslaught, aiming a kick at his gut. But Trent and DJ pulled me away from Duncan, leaving him to cradle his left eye in pain. DJ let me go to tend to him teammate and Trent spun me around and shoved me away. "Confessional Cam. Now." He growled. Seems LeShawna isn't the only person that can be scary.

I trudged away, growling and stuffing my hands into my soaked jeans. Stupid Juvie Brat. Stupid mother with her stupid naming me Kyran. I hate that name, it doesn't fit me at all. I slammed the door of the Confesional Cam behind me and turned it on, ready to start ranting. And rant I did. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS HIS PROBLEM!?!?!" I yelled at the camera as if it actually had the camera. "I was ready to let the whole thing go if he just stayed the hell away from me. I was ready to be friends if DJ wanted us to get along. But NO! THAT LITTLE DUMBASS JUST PHBT, THREW THAT CHANCE OUT TO SEA!!" I snarled, punching the wall with the side of my fist. My heavy breathing was the only sound in the small space for a moment before I took a deep breath and glared at the camera right in the eyes- ...er....lens. In a very Bugs-Bunny voice, I said in a deadly tone, "Of course you realize, this means war."

**_AND WAR THERE SHALL BE!!!!!_**


	4. AN NOT a new chapter!

On Hiatus!!

As stated previously, I don't have the episodes playing in front of me. I can only watch them on YouTube. I am writing this at school, because the only computer at home is busted and I can't get on Youtube. If you're really that impatient, try reading some of my other crud. Thank you, and good day!


	5. To build a Hot Tub

The next half-hour found me and the Screaming Gophers trekking along the beach. And, thanks to my epic geniusness, nearly everyone on our team had nothing to do. Owen was pulling everything along on a single cart. We'd piled everything in one gigantic mountain. I, along with my edible sidekick Mister Twinky, had the job of sitting on top of said cart and dangling Mr. Twinky in Owen's face using a random stick and string. I cackled evilly with each lunge the large boy made. "HYAH MULE, HYAH!" I crowed happily.

Trent walked beside me, between the cart and Gwen. Is it just me, or have those two become inseparable in the one day we've been here? The musician chuckled at my enthusiasm. "I have to admit, bribing Owen with junk food was actually a pretty good idea." _'Don't sound so surprised…_' He directed a thumbs-up to me before Owen finally collapsed. "Easy there, Owen. Here, take a break." He placed a random bucket of water near Owen's head, patting his side like one would do to a horse. But on a more important note, where the hell did that bucket of water come from? Is Trent a mage? A wizard? Dude, maybe he could turn Heather into a toad and we'd send her to France or something…

Ignoring my rather irrelevant thoughts, I snorted and grinned down at Trent. "Hey Trent…" He looked up, only to have the bait bob in front of his face. "Want a treat? Huh, do ya Trent? Who's a good boy, go get the treat!" Trent just gave me a dry look, prompting another laugh before he sighed and shook his head. "Aw, come on, I'm just kiddin'! Lighten up, buddy!" I made Mr. Trinky bop him on the head before retracting him. Looking beyond our team, I caught sight of the Killer Bass. They'd probably gotten a head start while we packed up everything and hooked Owen up.

Now, who would be most up for humiliating my beloved cousin's team? The immediate answer would be Heather. And, though I was loathe to admit it, she would probably be best at it. So I yelled, "Looks like the Pansy Trouts are having some trouble, eh Heather!" Heather's head jerked up from examining her nails to glare/stare at me. I can never tell the difference, her eyes are always in a glare position. _"Play along."_ I mouthed to her.

Evil Bitch- erm, I mean, Heather- mirrored my smirk and responded loudly, "Duh, of course they are! Losers like them always have trouble!" I snickered for a bit before both of us shared an evil laugh that I'm fairly certain made Beth quiver out of the corner of my eye. Poor girl, I'll have to cheer her up later…

Just under my hearing, I heard an enraged snarl coming from the clustered enemy. Probably from the oh-so-_darling_ Juvie Brat. And yay again for me being psychic, because the whispered threat confirmed it. "Just wait until I get my hands on that brat! I'll beat her to a pulp!" That's what you think, Juvie Brat, that's what you think… "DJ, I hope you don't mind if you're minus one relative before this thing is over."

Still on top of my seat, I whirled around and pointed the stick at him. "Just try it, Juvie Brat! I've seen scarier fish than you in a tuna fish sandwich!" We glared at each other for a bit before I suddenly turned to DJ. "Actually, that reminds me. Sorry Deej, but you may need a new pet Starfish after this." Well, it's true! My friends have weird senses of humor, let's leave it at that.

DJ sighed, leaning against the crate he was pushing. "Ember or Ash?" He asked wearily. See, that's how the relationship between my cousin and my friends go. He knows which one of them is more likely to mess with his stuff while he isn't staying with us.

With an apologetic smile, I hunched my shoulders and said, "Ash, actually. But for good reason! That dick down at the park wouldn't leave Ember alone about going out with him, so we both just kind of… put together a… _thing_ to scare him off…" DJ gave me a disapproving stare, and I waved my hands in front of my face. "Hey, don't look at me like that! It was either scare him off or sick the Ninjas of Doom on him." Someone let out a half-snort, half-snicker, but I didn't bother to care who it was. DJ took me seriously, and that's all I cared about. "Yeah, it was that bad."

DJ shuddered for a bit. But before he could speak, Juvie Brat growled. "Stop ignoring me, dammit! I'm a hardened criminal, I've been to Juvie, and I deserve respect."

I flicked my eyes to him, and I'm particularly certain they were as hard as flint. "If you had any sort of brains in that thick head of yours, you'd have attacked me while my guard was down. Just the fact that you didn't take advantage of my lapse of attention leads me to believe you have no idea how to finish a fight. But then again," I switched my expression to a thoughtful one, knowing already that he'd flip out, "the intelligence to do so may have just leaked out from all of those piercings."

And just as I predicted, Juvie Brat gave the most viscous snarl yet and started toward me. I made as if to leap off of my mount to meet him, but then suddenly Owen jumped upward and started running as fast as his fat body could carry him. Seems like Big Guy had suddenly gotten his second wind. Clinging for dear life- though would anyone miss me if I let go?-, I yelled, "DAMMIT OWEN, STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!" Juvie Brat's laughter slowly filtered out behind me, his violence having been overcome by shock in my hour of having to hold on. "THIS ISN'T OVER YET, JUVIE BRAT! NOT BY A LONG SHO-AIEEEE!" Holy fudge monkeys, who knew fat men could run!

Trent's voice near my ear shocked me enough to nearly let go. "That's right, just keep running big guy! You'll get a full plate of brownies soon!" Quieter, he said to me, "Sorry about that, Flare. You looked like you and Duncan were about to duke it out. We can't afford any injuries or risk of disqualification so early in the game." Just then, a red and green blur flung over our heads, cackling psychotically. "Okay, I repeat, bribing Owen was a good idea. But whose idea was it to give Izzy a whip!"

At the mention of a whip, all caution flew from my brain and I sat up. "Aw, no fair! Why did she get a whip and I didn't, I'm the driver here!" My grip slipped from the cart, and I started to slide back. Only Trent's hand on the small of my back kept me from flying. I wonder where that expression came from, anyway. What makes the small any different from the rest of the back? And I REALLY need to stop going off topic with my thoughts…

Trent raised his head enough to peer over both of our shoulders, and the fact that his mouth was right near my ear made me wince when he called to out brownie-driven teammate, "Okay Owen, that's enough! Stop here and we can wait for the others." Owen slowed to a stop again, flopping to the ground and breathing heavily. I will be amazed if Trent pulls another bucket from nowhere… Instead, though, he climbed down the tower of boxes with me following after him. He jumped to the ground with a soft _thump _and offered a hand to help me down. Instead of taking it, I waved for him to step backward and, once he did, performed a front flip off of the crate. Oh yeah, score for me! When I straightened out, Trent had a raised eyebrow. "Impressive. Gymnastics?"

I laughed nervously for a bit, rubbing the back of neck sheepishly. I didn't normally show off like that, and I'm not entirely sure why I just did. "Nah, I'm just naturally limber. Mum tried to sign me up once, but I got kicked out within a week for making the other girls screw up." I laughed at myself, memories resurfacing from places buried long ago. Cool, zombie thoughts! "I kept leg sweeping them when they tried handstands and cartwheels. It was awesome." His eyebrow went higher. "You know, knocking their legs from under them?" Then I dropped down and flicked my leg out, stopping just short of taking out his knee. "And voila, leg sweep."

Trent stepped back nervously, gulping quietly when I kicked up with no problems. "Eh heh… Remind me not to tick you off in the future, please?" I responded with a chirped, "Mkay!", before he grinned suddenly. "Dude, Duncan has no idea what he's getting into, does he?"

I felt my grin turn slightly evil on my face, like the Grinch's grin does when he's thinking of stealing Christmas. Dude, though, I would so love to be the Grinch. How awesome is he? "Not at all, my friend, not at all. Hopefully DJ won't try to play the 'hero' and warn him of my awesome skills." To emphasize, I punched the air a few times. "I can't wait to see his face when I'm finally allowed to have at him." I dropped into an instinctual fighting stance, imagining Juvie Brat in front of me with arms crossed and smirking. Just doing that made my blood start to boil. "The first bone that will be broken is his nose." I jabbed a fist out quickly to where the fake-Juvie Brat stood and imagined him staggering back and holding his nose. He glared at me from under his nose and I fell back into a defensive stance, too far into my fantasy to notice the rest of my team jogging up to stand behind Trent. "Then he'll lash out with his own attack because the bloody idiot's predictable like that."

Fake-Juvie Brat lunged at me with a soundless roar, his fist pulled back to strike me down. Still narrating my small bout of insanity, I barked, "Dodge!", and then I ducked beneath his punch and drove my left fist upward, toward his chest. My punch connected and, this is the creepy part, the wind blew sharply like his breath had actually been crushed out of him. A right uppercut quickly followed, sending fake-Juvie Brat reeling backwards and off balance.

Quick as a snake, I dropped back down and did another leg sweep, taking him down to the hard-packed earth. I dug the toes of my opposite foot into the ground and, with my incredibly awesome flexibility, lifted myself into the air and brought my heel into his throat, which WOULD have finished the fight… if it been real.

That fact flitted across my mind before my foot passed through where I'd imagined the bastard to be. It crashed into the ground and sent a shockwave of pain up my leg and all the way to my stomach. Yeah, I put THAT much force into the hit. "ITAI!" I yelled and sat on my ass, cradling my wounded appendage and cursing in every language I knew. Which, now that I'm speaking in them all at once, was actually quite a lot. Laughter made its way to my ear, horrible creepy eerie laughter that made children in China cry. I glared balefully up at the person laughing: Heather. Now why doesn't that surprise me?

The first person that made their way toward me was Gwen. Now that DOES surprise me. We haven't known each other for a while, but she so far hasn't made any move to talk to me willingly. "You okay?" She asked, squatting next to me. Quieter, so only I could hear, "Is there something going on between you and Trent, Flare?" I met her gaze curiously. She returned it without flinching. "I want to know, because I won't step into anyone else's boundaries. If you want him, I'll lay off."

Wow. Gwen is made of epic niceness. I don't know if I'd do that for a guy I liked… Luckily for her, I don't like Trent that way. Still, doesn't mean I can't have a bit of fun while I can, right? So I gingerly put my foot down and stood up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Gwen." I pulled her closer under the impression of a one-armed hug. "We'll talk more where we won't be overheard." She gave me a wary look before nodding and pulling away. Hey, I can totally be cryptic when I want to be! I pulled myself up on the cart and faced my team. "Now let's go, we have a hot tub to build!" I pumped my fist in the air, hoping to get everyone psyched up like they do in all the shows where everyone has a common goal to work towards. Unfortunately, the Screaming Gophers only laughed at me or shook their heads in exasperation. "Eh, it was worth a shot." I shrugged and plopped back down. "Alrighty, Owen, time to charge!" Owen stayed still. "… Hey Trent, what did you say to Owen earlier to make him run like the bats of hell were trying to bite his big ass?"

Trent smirked mischievously at me. "I suggest you hang on to something this time." I scowled at him but clung to my crate nonetheless. Bloody smart-ass bastard. "Hey Owen, want some brownies? First one to the camp gets all of them." No reaction. "…Dude, I think we killed him."

Just the matter-of-fact tone he used made me laugh, but the moment Cody pulled out a stick and started poking Owen's flub sent me into hysterics. I was laughing so hard that I at first didn't hear someone calling my name. I jumped, though, when someone slapped my knee. "FLARE!" I looked down at Noah's annoyed face. "About time. Was that Japanese you shouted when you were being stupid earlier?"

Le gasp, the fiend! How dare this lowly cretin insult my awesomeness that is myself! I shall smite him for this! … Okay, no I won't. I just like saying that. Insert smiley emoticon here. Sticking my nose in the air, I said haughtily, "I was not being stupid. I was acting out how I'd beat up Juvie Brat to a bloody mushy pile of goo on the ground." Even as I said it, I knew how stupid it sounded. Noah gave me a dry look. "Yes, it was Japanese." I relented with a sigh. "What of it, short stuff?" Hey, it's not every day I meet someone shorter than myself. I'm going to take as much advantage of it as I can.

His glare hardened at the insult. In a tone that clearly said how TO'd he was, he growled, "Damare.", and walked away. And I just gaped at his back like an idiot. Damn… Score one to the fun-sized nerd… I looked back to Owen to see Trent, Cody, and LeShawna all trying to wake the big guy up. Cody still had the Stick of Awesomeness, but was now directing its all mighty poke to his face.

Trent, bless his determination, took to climbing up Owen's mountainous body and jumping up and down. Judging by his grin, though, he was having far more fun up there than he should be. Makes me wonder if I should join him. You know, for the team, and totally not for my own amusement… "Dude, this guy is like a really squishy trampoline!" He yelled to me, turning around in the air to face me. But he landed at an angle.

Here's a physics lesson: when something lands at an angle, it goes back up in the opposite angle. It doesn't matter who or what you are: a tennis ball, a bowling ball, or even an awesome-haired musician. You will be sent back up into the air and gravity will pwn you. Depending on how high off the ground you are, you may very well find yourself a simple splat on the ground. To quote my physics teacher: "Say hi to my father for me when you lot go to hell." I always KNEW he was related to Satan.

It was with that in mind that I felt no sympathy as I watched the musician go flying and meet solidly with the ground far away. "You okay?" I called, already grinning. Trent's voice was muffled by the ground, so I didn't really know what he said. But the fact that he answered was always a good sign, right? With a thoughtful look, I glanced back and forth from the prone Trent to Owen in front of me. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And that's when it hit me. "WAIT!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. It took me a bit to gain my balance, seeing as how I'd completely forgotten I was on a movable object. When I'd caught myself, I pointed at Noah. "Noah, by your nerd calculations, how much time would it take for all of us to unhook Owen, wheel everything around him, and get to camp?"

The sarcastic scholar didn't even blink at being called a nerd. He's probably heard stuff so much worse than that in the past. "About 20 minutes, 30 tops." He craned his neck behind us all, even going as far as standing on his tip toes. Dude, for a smart guy, the idea of climbing the Mount-o-Boxes for a better view went completely over his head. Yay, another short joke! "And, considering I can't even see the other team," dude, seriously, stop setting yourself up, "we don't have to worry about a time factor."

He looked at me suspiciously and opened his mouth to question me, but instead yelped and stumbled back when I suddenly jumped to the ground and dashed to Trent, who was just beginning to trudge back to the group. Without stopping, I tackled him to the ground and hugged him for all my worth. If my brother were here, he'd say it wasn't a whole lot. "Thank you thank you thank you, Trent! You're a bloody genius!" Then, ignoring his confused look (and Gwen's hurt one, which I'll have to also apologize later for), I sprinted over to Cody and grabbed Noah's scrawny arm on the way. Cody was still poking at Owen when I stopped. With my ninja skills, I snatched his stick from him and threw it into the forest. "You two, work on getting the harness off of him without jostling his body too much."

Both agreed confusedly, though Noah was a tad reluctant. And, hey, the bloody brainiac had a reason to be. Besides my random question, none of them had any idea of my sudden flash of brilliance. And this does not happen often, let me tell you! The others looked just as confused, if not a tad bit annoyed, so I took pity on them all and explained. "It's rather simple, really. We have a cart. They," I thumbed behind us all to where our opponents drifted somewhere, "don't."

Heather was the first to realize where I was going with my scheme. "They'll have to push their boxes around by hand while we can just wheel our stuff to the other side." For the first time since we'd all arrived that morning, She-Bitch looked impressed with one of us. _'Not really sure how much her approval is worth, though…'_ Then her eyes narrowed in obvious disdain and she scoffed. "I hope you don't actually expect me to help you losers push that thing."

Both Gwen and LeShawna shot her disgruntled and agitated looks behind her back. I'm fairly certain all three of us had the same thought at that moment: _'Why, because you might chip your perfectly manicured nails?'_ Pah, we would probably be right. But before they could say anything, I was shaking my head. "No, of course not, Heather. You have an important job to do." Her eyebrow went high on her forehead, but her eyes stayed narrow. How she managed to do that, I really don't want to know. "You need to stay here in case Owen wakes up before the Killer Bass get here. He'll need convincing to stay down and pretend to be out cold." I gave a fleeting glance to where Cody and Noah were fast at work. "Though, with the way he's reacting now, that may not be a problem." Then I faced her again and made my expression as sincere and innocent as possible without seeming suspicious. "If that's the case, they need to be persuaded to go the long way instead of cutting through the water.

"The lake would have made the soil loose. All they would have to do is push the crates along and it would be smooth sailing." I cracked a smirk. "Lucky for us none of them are smart enough to figure that out for themselves, eh?" Someone chuckled at the insult, but I didn't care to find out who it was. Then I looked back down at Heather, who hadn't changed her facial expression one bit. "Still, though, you'll need to stay here." She still looked unconvinced, so I motioned with my hand to draw her away from the rest.

Once we were a small distance away, I lowered my voice. When in doubt, stroke the ego. "Listen to me, Heather. You're the only one I can trust with this. The others are either too soft or horrible liars. I mean, look at them." I slid my eyes over to the team without physically moving. "Beth has the make-up of an all-around-friend. She wouldn't be able to stand lying right to their faces. And Lindsay doesn't have a smart bone in her body." I looked back at her to see her staring straight at me. "You, Heather, are not soft, nor are you a bad liar. You're strong, Heather, I can sense it. You aren't one of these," I waved my hand idly behind me, "these _weaklings_. You're smart; you could easily convince those stupid idiots to go around. If they ask why you're helping them, improvise."

So close, she looks so _close_ to caving. But she really is stronger than her scrawny body makes her look. I'll have to watch for her in the future. For now, though, I've already cornered the target. Time to go for the kill… Oh god, how much more gruesome can I get? I gave Heather the best pleading look I could muster. "Come on, Heather! I'll be in your debt! Anything you want me to do after this, I'll do it!" Or I'll gouge your eyes out with a rusty spork. Depends on my mood when that time comes.

After a moment of mental deliberation, She-Bitch nodded. "Fine, I'll do it." She said with a roll of her eyes. Then, more sharply, she said, "But you _so_ owe me. And I'm never staying near the fat lard in the future, go that?"

I felt the need to throw a 'friendly' arm over her shoulder. But, again, I curse my mother's short genes. So instead I just patted her arm. "Heather, you and I shall do great things together, great things." We rejoined the Screaming Gophers in time for Cody and Noah to announce success. They'd taken the harness off of Owen. Where the harness mysteriously disappeared to, I have no idea. Everyone looked to me to see what to do next and I felt a sudden surge in power. I wanted to see how far I could push my newfound authority, so I quickly dealt out orders. "Trent, Beth, LeShawna. You three are with me in pushing from the back. We'll be serving as the main force of motion." The ones named nodded and got into position, waiting for me.

Heh, this is more fun than I thought it would be… But I shan't let the power get to my head! "Gwen, Justin, Izzy," the three stood straighter with Izzy even going as far as to give me a jaunty salute, "distribute yourselves to the side. You'll be what keeps the cart from going off track. I'll switch back and forth between the back and side to make up for the uneven number of you." Gwen muttered something about a 'bossy rival' before she stood next to a rocking Izzy. The last ones were Noah, Cody, and Lindsay. "Noah and Cody, walk as far ahead as necessary in front of the cart and clear out any debris that may screw with the wheels. Sticks, branches, rocks, shit like that."

Before I could speak again, Lindsay started bouncing excitedly. "Ooh, ooh, what do I get to do, Floor?" Then she looked confused. "Floor is such a weird name. Why would your parents name you that?"

Because they're sick and twisted bastards. "Because my name is Flare, sweetie." I said gently. "And you'll be the relay between the sweepers and the cart." Her confused look heightened and I sighed, trying to think of a way to put it simple enough for her brain to handle without imploding. But I wouldn't put a stunt like that passed Chris, just to make himself the prettiest person on the island. "If Noah or Cody need a message sent back to us, like a log they can't move, you come running back to tell us, okay?" She nodded in understanding, but I had absolutely no faith in her ability to remember her job, let alone any messages she needed to transmit. "Then let's move out!"

Between the seven of us set on cart-duty, it only took five minutes to maneuver the cart around Owen. Noah and Cody were already ahead of away a decent amount of clutter. I kept an eye under my arm to make sure Heather followed my instructions. The only movement she made was to settle her skinny ass against Owen's squishy side. When the large boy was nothing but a blob, I spoke. "How much did you hear?" I asked LeShawna. I had noticed her inching toward me during my 'talk' with Heather.

LeShawna's tone was enough to wish I had chosen to push by Trent's other side. "Depends. Did you mean all that smack you talked back there about the team?"

Half of me wanted to snort in laughter, the other wanted to hide in the sand. I went with the snorting idea, since that didn't make me seem nearly as cowardly. That and I'd look like an idiot trying to hide in the sand. "Psh, hell no." I grinned up at the plus-sized sister, not even concentrating on putting my full strength into pushing. "Hon, anyone that can be bought with that much bull shit flattery is no smarter than a peacock, strutting about because it believes it's the prettiest of the flock. Heather is the type of peacock where, if you painted a turkey and put it next to her, she would never tell the difference."

I could hear Gwen's laughter from the far side of the cart. Little Beth was giggling on LeShawna's other side. The large girl herself was smirking at my analogy. "In that case, hon, I didn't hear a single thing." I would have bumped fists with her, but since both of us kind of had our hands full, we settled with a hip-bump. At least it seems like I'd found allies in her and Beth. Gwen, though, would be a bit harder to win over. She did have reason to be wary, after all.

On my side opposite Leshawna, Trent chuckled lowly. "I admit, that was pretty awesome what you did back there." I gave him a curious look. "The way you took control back there, and everyone listening to you. You had no problems at all with being in charge." I felt his eyes on the top of my head, what with him being taller than me. "You took in everyone's strengths and weaknesses and put them in positions where they'd be most helpful. The moment Heather denied being any part of this plan, you made up something completely on the spot that would get her out of the way. You've got the makings of a great leader, Flare."

I recognized the awed tone in his voice. It was the tone of someone who just found something legendary. And I had to put a stop to it if I wanted to be friends with Gwen. "Don't look at me like that, Trent." I said sharply, cutting my eyes to him. I met his eyes unwaveringly, making sure to get my point across. "You're far too much like the brother I wish I had for me to even _think_ about it. If we're going to be teammates, I'd like for us to remain friends." He nodded, looking like a kicked puppy. If it didn't go completely against what I just said, I'd squeal and hug him. Raising my voice, I said to everyone else, "And that goes for the other guys too. I have no intention of finding a boyfriend during the competition. If you girls want a man, have at him." Not like you'd really need my permission anyway.

Though she tried to mask it with sarcasm, I could hear the relief in Gwen's voice when she answered. "Gee, thanks for that, Flare. Your approval means so much." And to show that we understood each other, we shared a nice laugh.

It took us less than the thirty minutes Noah had predicted to get to the camp. By that time, the ones that I had assigned to walk ahead of us had rejoined the main group. "Hey look, there's the camp!" Beth shouted, pointing out the obvious.

And Noah, the sarcastic bastard that he is, just HAD to comment. "No, really? I thought it was Gotham City."

I gaped at him, my eyes wide. "Dude, don't even joke about that! Do you realize how AWESOME it would be to meet Batman and the Joker when they AREN'T trying to kill each other and/or everyone around them?"

Cody whipped around to glare at me, the gap in his teeth looking like a cave as he curled his lip in disgust. "Screw Batman, Superman could kick his rubber-covered ass! He doesn't even have any powers!"

Oh, he did NOT just insult my favorite hero! I pointed at him, narrowing my eyes accusingly. "Superman is nothing but an arrogant prick! And at least Batman's secret identity REMAINS secret. All Superman would have to do is take off those dorky glasses and people would piss themselves, going 'OH SHIT, ITS SUPERMAN!'"

We glared at each other until very familiar- and oh so irritating- laughter came over us all. As one, the entire group turned their glares/annoyed looks on our _beloved_ host: Christ McClain. He had himself doubled over in laughter, hands on his knees to balance himself and his overly large head. But that's probably just the hair that makes it seem so large. I wonder what he uses on it. Note to self: ask when not consumed by the urge to kick him where it hurts. Once he sorted himself out, he flashed myself and Cody a sparkly little grin. "Well, I wasn't expecting_ that_ cozy topic when you came in! Getting to know the ladies already, eh Cody?" Then the bastard waggled his eyebrows at us. Be careful Chris, there might be an 'accidental' explosion and those pretty little eyebrows will 'accidentally' be burned off your face.

At least Cody had the sense to back away from me with a nervous grin on his face. "No, just a friendly debate between teammates." Against my better judgment, I gave him a reassuring smile and patted his arm. And then he went on. "Besides, my heart belongs to another my Mistress of the Night." He gave Gwen a look that I'm sure he thought was sly. I just thought he looked constipated.

You know that voice in your head that tells you that what you're thinking of doing is a bad idea? A conscience, I believe the normal people call it? Yeah, mine was just tied to the figurative railroad tracks and run over by my mischievous side, which I've always oddly enough envisioned as a crossbreed between Santa and a Sour Patch Kid. Since _I _don't even know why this is, I doubt the world ever will. I gaped at Cody, morphing my features into a look of pure disbelief. "Then you lied to me when we were on the docks?"

A small part of me wanted to laugh at his face right there: half fearful and half confused. "What? What are you-?"

I cut him off. "What about all the time we've shared? Did none of it mean anything to you?" I sniffled a bit, and had to force my lips to stay trembling instead of curling up into a grin when his eyes widened. "I knew it, you never cared about me! You're just a… a… a silly _boy!_" With practiced ease, I burst out crying. Big globs of tears poured from my eyes, rolling down my face and dropping to the ground.

I wish I had a camera at that moment. Cody's reaction was _priceless_. You know that weird 'wtf' dance cartoon characters do when they have no idea what's going on? Yeah, that's what Cody was doing. He waved his arms in the air, dancing from one foot to the other like someone was setting off fire-crackers at his feet. Not a bad idea, actually… With pure panic etched onto his face, he said, "No, come on, don't cry! I hate it when girls cry!" After a minute of failing to 'console' me, he turned to our staring audience. "Help me out here, guys! How do my make her stop crying!"

At once, a bombardment of suggestions were hurled at us, only about half of them serious. "Flowers always help!" "Read her a sonnet from Shakespeare!" "Anyone got a whoopy cushion? We could try to make her laugh!" God bless you, Izzy, God bless you and your crazy ideas. It seems Trent really will be my best friend, because he already knows my mind better than the others. He said with a chuckle, "Come on, Flare, you've had your fun. Stop torturing the poor kid already before he pees himself in terror!"

And just like that, the waterworks stopped and I shrugged casually. "Ah well, it was fun while it lasted." Trent and I ignored the gaping teens around us and instead watched the gaping face of Chris. "So we're here. What'cha want with these?" I smacked one of the boxes for emphasis with the side of my fist. "I mean, how we getting them open?" And just to up the creeper factor, I added excitedly, "Do we get to use power tools?"

Chris gave me another weird look but Izzy spoke in the same excited tone. "Oh my gosh, I _love _power tools! One time, my uncle let me use his chainsaw to cut down an enormous oak tree in his yard- or was it maple? Anyway, it ended up crushing his neighbor's cat instead. It was so sad, but awesome too!" Looks like I'm not the only once that enjoys the creeper factor. Actually, using what I know of Izzy, she's probably related to the guy that CREATED the creeper factor, and I probably owe her thousands and thousands of dollars. Oh, bugger…

But before I could burst into a REAL round of tears, our host cleared his throat irritably. "If you two are _quite_ finished…" He glared at us before saying in a professional tone, "In each box are the tools and supplies you guys will need for the second part of the challenge: building a hot tub." Wait, isn't that exactly what he said on the cliff, word for freaking word? Dude, they must have a copy-and-paste button for real life! "However, you can only open your crate using… your teeth." We gaped while he gave yet another devious grin. "Oops, did I forget to mention that part?"

That… That bloody wanker! He _meant_ to not tell us that! Why I oughta-! And just as I leaped to tip his pretty face off, three bodies from my right, left, and behind me intercepted my bloody rampage. Good, that means they're learning my violent tendencies already. This also means there will be far less dead bodies to worry about in the future. Through the roaring in my ears, I heard the words "amputate", "genitals", and "toothpick". I'm not sure whether they look more amazed at the threats spewing forth or that I knew such big words. It was probably a tiny bit of both.

Once I'd gotten that out of my system, I set to convince them all I was relatively safe to let go. And believe me that was _not_ an easy task to accomplish! "I'm better now! Really, honestly! You can all give me back mobility!" They made no movement to release me and I let out an exaggerated sigh. "I promise, I won't actually-"I blinked before looking at Izzy, who seemed to be gnawing on my arm, "-what _did_ I say I would do?" Izzy shrugged, seeming reluctant to surrender her 'snack' to speak. So I turned to Trent, acting for all the world that someone chewing on my limbs was totally normal. And for all these people know, it is.

Trent, for his part, seemed a bit paler than before my momentary –insert sarcastic snicker here- lapse of sanity. Dude, it couldn't be that bad, could it? "You said you'd amputate his genitals with a toothpick-" I got that so far- "and then carve out his reproductive organs with a rusty spoon." …. _That_ part, I conveniently missed.

For a minute, I just stood and gaped at him in pure disbelief. He just nodded shakily waiting for the full reaction they all knew was coming. When I found my voice, I croaked three simple words. "That. Is. _Awesome._" Then I started cackling. Izzy let out an 'ah-ha!' at my side. I felt a pressure on my neck and, for lack of a better term, dropped like a sack of potatoes.

When I clawed my way back to consciousness, I took a few seconds to regain my senses and look around me. Owen and Heather had rejoined us, my team was making good progress without me, and the Killer Bass had just arrived. Very coincidentally, they were well within hearing range. And, curious little bitch that I am, I listened in. Courtney was speaking. "... We need a leader. And, as I'm the only one here with actual CIT training, I nominate myself." Arrogant little bitch. I'm going to have to kill myself if she ever strikes up an alliance with Heather.

Not before I kill Juvie Brat, though, of course. And speaking of Juvie Brat, who but he would grace us with his dulcet tones? "Where do we begin, Cyclops?" Wait… What?

His question hadn't registered in my mind before Courtney snapped back, "Like you're much better Duncan!" Oh, now I HAVE to see this. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and glanced back and forth between punk and priss. Courtney's eye was pink and puffy while Juvie Brat's, in quite a contrast, was black and swollen. Dude that is an AWESOME shiner!

And of course, myself being _me_, I had to cause trouble. So I leaned my elbows on my knees and placed my chin in my hands, saying in an airy tone, "You know," and I took great pleasure that they all jumped in surprise, "if you two worked together, you'd have a normal pair of eyes." I sighed heavily, shaking my head with closed eyes. "It's just such a shame that, even working together, you'd only have half a brain between you two." They had different reactions. Courtney simply glared and stuck her nose in the air with a huff. Juvie Brat's reaction: much more fun to watch. His lipped curled, his eyes narrowed, and a guttural sound that was no doubt a snarl ripped from him. The effect would have been intimidating, even to me, if not for the purplish swelling over his eyebrow. Still with the light and airy tone, I pointed at it. "And, uh, you might want to get that checked out."

If you listened really closely, you could hear the _'snap'_ of his control and he leaped at me. I simply rolled off of the stairs I had been resting against and scrunched up in the space. Juvie Brat sailed right over my head, a blur of black and green, to land in a crumpled heap in the dirt. I straightened myself with a snort of laughter and sashayed passed him just in time to see Heather and Lindsay walk away from Leshawna. LeShawna saw me first and waved me over. She filled me in on what I'd missed so far. She finished up with, "And Heather just came over to apologize! Do you believe that at all?"

I shook my head and decided to just let them all handle it. I had no idea what was going on now, and so subtly stepped into the background. Just for fun, I climbed onto a roof and surveyed the progress of both teams. Beth and Justin were both hammering the planks into a neat border. Across from them was the biggest atrocity I'd ever laid eyes on. When my team had finished that, three of them made a line to pass a bucket to and fro. And unlike with Trent, I had an idea where this bucket had come from. With the Bass tub, Courtney was using duct tape to stop water from coming out. She's stupider than she looks if she thinks that would work. I should know, since I'd tried to tape something underwater before!

And finally came the time for Chris to judge. He bent down to examine our tub first and I discreetly jumped from my hiding spot, sidling up silently next to Trent. We were all watching in silent anxiousness for a bit before Chris exclaimed, "This is an awesome hot tub!" Some let out cheers, some let out relieved sighs. I was among the latter. And let those who judge me be damned! He walked over to the Killer Bass tub, gave it one tap, and it fell apart. A seagull with a six-pack around its neck slid out with the water. We all watched it before Chris said, "Well, I think we have a winner." Then he looked back and forth, as if it there was actually any question about who won. I mean, their hot tub freaking _fell apart._ Then he yelled out, "The Screaming Gophers!" After a cheer from us, he said, "You guys also get to rock this hot tub for the rest of the summer. BONUS!"

After a bit more cheering, he turned to the Killer Bass. "Tonight, the Killer Bass will be sending someone home. Choose wisely!" He added a cackle for effect.

-At Dinner-

I refused to eat that slop Chef served us. Dinner was even worse than breakfast! I listened in on the Killer Bass, ignoring my teammates for the sake of my curiosity. I stayed quiet, keeping my opinions to myself, up until Juvie Brat left. Then I let out a cheer. "Yay, Juvie Brat's gone!" People stared. I stared back. "What?" They just shook their heads and went back to their food. I popped up from my seat and skipped over to DJ, plopping down into the spot Juvie Brat had vacated. "'Sup bitches?" I asked with a grin.

To say I was welcomed would be to lie. Courtney glared and huffed. Obviously she hasn't forgiven me for insulting her. Everyone else either glared or ignored me. Ezekiel was among the latter, because he spoke as if I wasn't there. "Well, I don't understand how we lost, eh? They're the ones that have six girls." The horror seeped into the males' faces at the same time anger swept up the females, including myself. He thought we weren't good enough, just because we're girls? The nerve of this pompous, stupid, sexist bastard!

Bridgette and Eva both leaned toward him, anger on their faces as clear as Lindsay's cleavage in her shirt. "What's that suppose to mean?" Bridgette asked menacingly. If I weren't so angry myself, I'd have been impressed with the surfer girl. Who knew she could be so threatening while still being mellow?

Eva spoke from behind Ezekiel, her hands clenched into fists. Though, now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen her fists _un_clenched yet. "Yeah, home school, enlighten us!" She emphasized everyone's anger by pounding her fist on the table, shaking everyone's drinks and plates. I wouldn't be surprised, actually, if the legs creaked a bit under her weight. Not to say she's fat or anything, just that muscles weigh more than body fat.

Either he didn't realize how much trouble he was in, or he really thought he could take on all the girls at that table. Personally, I think it was a little of both. "Well, guys are much stronger and better at sports then girls are." He shrugged with his hands in the air like it's an undisputed fact, proven by scientists and sciency crap. It might not have been such a good idea for him to say that to a surfer and a fitness buff. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cody and Noah- why the hell are they here too? Did they want to bother the Killer Bass with me? They could have said something! - sidle away from a tweaked looking Katie and Sadie.

Eh, at least Geoff seems to be SOMEWHAT sane, ignoring the fact that he's a party boy who probably gets drunk every weekend in someone's basement. He slapped a hand to his forehead with a disbelieving look, and yet, he still managed a smile. "Oh snap! He did _not_ just say that!"

Ezekiel just continued, acting like he didn't have a horde of angry females getting ready to rip him limb from fucking limb. And I'm fairly certain Eva can do it, too, no problem! "My dad told me to look out for the girls here, eh? And help them in case they can't keep up?" What the HELL in his mind made him look _directly at Eva_ when he spoke the words?

As soon as Eva reared back to lunge, I decided to add my own two cents. I'd give more, but I'm kind of broke. So I stood up and got between the gorilla and the pig, offering up a mischievous but placating smile. "Hey, now, let's not get violent, Eva." I backed up, bumping Ezekiel farther from his team and closer to the garbage cans. "After all, there's really no reason to punish the boy for sharing his opinion." He tried to move from behind me, but I maneuvered myself into blocking him. When I knew we were close to my target and paused, saying with a thoughtful tone, "Though... I am a fan of violence, so..." And then I spun around, picked Ezekiel up, and dumped him head first into the can.

Effect: instantaneous. Everyone on both teams laughed their heads off, including Courtney and Heather. Me thinks they don't care enough to scold me about disrespect/consorting with the other teams. Respectively, of course. The Canadian prick was yelling his head off, kicking his legs into the air to try and right himself. All he managed to do was knock the can onto it's side. A yell from Chef made me look up, and I caught the ladle he threw at me. For a brick house-Rambo wannabe, just that made him pretty cool. Insert evil cackle here. I picked up the trash can, stuffing Zeke further inside of it, and banging the side of it to create loud crashing noises.

His yells were alternating between, "Would you get me out of here, eh?", and, "Quit it, that hurts my ears!" Che, too bad nobody here cares, Zekey buddy! Geoff pulled me back by the collar of my shirt, having DJ wrestle the ladle from my hand. "Aw, come on, just chill Flare! At least he doesn't think guys are _smarter_ than girls, right?"

Ezekiel must be really flexible or something, because his face peaked out from under the garbage can. "But, they are!" Queue Eva smashing fist on garbage, slamming the can all the way to the floor. Muffled through the side, Zeke yelled, "Oh come on, eh? That's even louder than before!" Honestly, all I could do was laugh at him before Geoff handed me off to DJ, who threw me over his shoulder and carried me out.

I spent however much time I was on his shoulder laughing. I just couldn't stop myself. If Eva didn't go home today, I thought we were going to be great friends. She enjoys hurting people, and I enjoy watching people get hurt. Funny how life works like that, right? I did, however, have to stop once DJ dumped me on the steps to the Screaming Gophers cabin. The glare he sent me was not nice, not nice at all. And yet, I still beamed up at him. Does that say something about my mentality? "Flare..." He stopped himself and sighed, plopping down next to me. This was more the DJ I knew. I can handle the softy DJ, it's when he charges that I have to dodge. "Listen, cuz, you need to stop being mean to my teammates."

I dropped my smile. Ah, so it would be one of _those_ types of talks, eh? "I can't help it, Deej." I said, leaning back with my elbows on the stairs. "It's part of my personality to be a bitch. And if you think I'll change just because you ask, then you didn't know me like I thought you did." He just looked at me, and I went on. "You know Mom and Dad have been trying to make me into a spoiled princess since the day I was born, yet Charlie gets full reign and terrorizes everyone he comes into contact with. You're family, DJ, and I will respect that." I stood, on the top stop, glaring down at him with my eyes narrowed. It wasn't one of my 'you will die' glares, or even 'fear me' glares. It was just a 'stay out of my way' glare. "But I don't care what anyone thinks about me, Juvie Brat especially. I'm loud, I'm annoying, I'm obnoxious. I know. But I won't have anyone make me into something I'm not."

He didn't say anything as I leaped from the steps and walked away, my hands into my pockets. I'd dried off from the challenge this morning rather quickly, actually. I walked into the woods, doing nothing but glaring at the ground. I didn't even pay attention to where I was going. I just... walked. I only looked up when the light faded, and the sky was faintly orange. The sun must be setting. Without a second thought, I climbed up a tree and sat near the top, choosing a branch that would allow me to lounge comfortable against the trunk. Aloud, I said, "So, even DJ is against me now..." I just shrugged. "Meh, I'll get through this without his help. And Juvie Brat..." I scowled and held up a fist, shaking it angrily at absolutely nothing. "Juvie Brat is going down, whether DJ wants him to or not."

**_((I lost motivation after messing with Zeke, if you can't tell. _**

**_Special thank you to Wistful Sin, who inspired that Batman/Superman argument with Flare and Cody. LOVE HER! XD _**

**_Tell me what you think in a review, please!))_**


	6. AN

Greetings, faithful readers and reviewers! I would like your opinion on something. It seems that I've run into a little snag on how to proceed with the next chapter. In the show, there were three days between each challenge day. My question is this: should I write out those three days, or play it like the challenges are on consecutive days?

_**PM me with your opinion. I'm going to substitute the chapter with this one when I finish it.**_


	7. Deal with the Devil

_**((AN: And thus, this is updated!))**_

_"Singing"- Trent_  
**"Singing"- Flare**  
_**"Singing"-Both **_

I don't remember walking back to the camp that night, let alone climbing up to the roof and falling asleep. But, alas, that's where I woke up the next morning to the sound of a door creaking open one the male side of the Screaming Gophers cabin. Who the hell would be up at... I checked the sun and realized the sky was still the gray-lavender color of predawn. What completely idiotic moron would be up _before_ the sun? I peaked over the edge of the roof and recognized the bouncy Elvis-style hair of Trent. He had his guitar with him, the strap over his shoulder so it hung by his waist.

I admit it, I'm nosy. The hell is he doing up so earlier? I waited while he swung his head back and forth, searching for any person that would be awake. And this is why I love sleeping on roofs. No one ever thinks to look up. Finding no one, he started to head toward the dock where we all got off yesterday. I looked for a way to get down, not wanting to alert him. With nothing better to use, I climbed down the tree next to the cabin and landed without a sound. Ha, ninja Flare strikes again!

Trent was almost out of camp. I'd have to be quick to catch up, but quiet as to not get caught. If I could follow him to the dock without him knowing, then I would officially be the coolest ninja ever. I'd have to make Ember buy me a Konoha**[1]**headband from Hot Topic. I did my best to make my feet fall silently, keeping one eye on Trent and one eye on my path. I've seen way too many shows and movies where the tracking person gives themselves away by stepping on a twig or dislodging a rock. And people say you can't learn anything by watching tv, ha!

He stopped suddenly and I tensed, ready to dive if he turned. But all he did was shirt his guitar from hanging by his waist to resting on his back. But the motion seemed a bit too... I don't know if casual is the word to use, but it certainly didn't seem right to me! It was like he knew something was up, but he didn't want to give himself away. My guess was he'd be on his guard now. To busy myself until it was safe to follow him again, I studied his instrument.

Even to someone who knew nothing about guitar maintenance, it would be clear he took good care of his. The wood was polished to a finish that shone brightly even without the sun. The strings were shiny and slack, ready to be tightened and tuned whenever the musician wanted to play. The strap was polished as well, and was made of black leather. I couldn't see from the distance if it had a buckle, but I was willing to bet that it did.

I almost whistled aloud. That thing must be damn expensive to maintain. I thought it was safe to go now, so I crept forward with silent steps. I kept my body steady, breathing with the wind. Each time he stopped, so did I. Every time he went forward, I followed. It wasn't long until he sat down on the dock with his guitar in his lap and began to tune it.

I did a small mental jig in my hiding spot behind a tree. Mission accomplished! I'd followed him the entire way without getting caught. I am now the awesomest ninja ever! Am I good or what? I was so wrapped up in my celebration that I missed when he started to play, but my attention was caught when he began to sing.

_"Every time we lie awake,  
after every hit we take..."_

Totally didn't see that coming. Trent has never struck me as a Three Days Grace type of guy. It's way too easy for me to picture him shmoozing to smooth jazz or Barry Manilow or even that guy people on Youtube refer to as Rick-Roll. I can never remember his name...

_"Every __feeling that I get,  
but I haven't missed you yet..."_

He's actually not that bad, at both singing and playing. A bit strained on the low notes, but that will fade with practice if he goes after a music career. Without acknowledging the thought, I moved out from behind the tree and sang the next part in my real voice.

**"Every roommate kept awake,  
by every sigh and scream we make..."**

He didn't jump or scream or yelp or do anything to suggest he was startled. Instead, he just turned his head and smiled a knowing smile. Just as I'd thought, he knew he was being followed the entire time. Perhaps Elvis has better instincts than I'd given him credit for... Without my permission, my feet carried me forward as he continued with the lyrics. Freaking traitors, I'd cut them off if they weren't needed for walking and such.

_"Every feeling that I get,  
but I still don't miss you yet,  
only when I stop to think about it..."_

It was like, at that moment, our minds connected. Without even one single glance or noise, we both knew what was coming next. At the exact same moment, without any prompting, we sang the chorus together.

_**"I hate everything about you!  
Why do I love you?  
I hate everything about you!  
Why do I love you?"**_

He changed pitch at the precise moment it would in the song, right after the lyrics end. I was so surprised by this because not even I could do it that I let out small exultant laugh. He gave me a questioning look, but by that time it was time for the next verse. Like a true professional, Trent just ignored it and let me take the next verse. My, what chivalry he doth show!

**"Every time we lie awake,**  
**after every hit we take,**  
**but I haven't missed you yet.  
Only when I stop to think about it...**

_**"I hate everything about you!  
Why do I love you?  
I have everything about you!  
Why do I love you?**_

_"Only when I stop to think about you,  
I know..._

**"Only when you stop to think about me,  
do you know?**

_**"I hate everything about you!  
Why do I love you?  
You hate everything about me!  
Why do you love me?**_

_**"**I hate...  
_**"You hate...  
**_"I hate...  
_**"You love me!**

_**"I hate everything about you!  
Why do I love you?"**_

The last _twang_ of the song floated off in the air. Trent and I sat there in a comfortable silence, watching the far-off horizon grow brighter. I broke the silence with a yawn. "What the hell are we doing here before sunrise, Trent?" I asked harshly while rubbing my eye, He raised an eyebrow and seemed about to retort when I said, "Think about your answer. The only reason I haven't already pushed you into the water is curiosity."

The eyebrow went further up, and he shied away from me a bit. "I wasn't going to say anything insulting, but it's nice to know." Thus, I lose the element of surprise. Dammit. "And it was a tradition for me and my mother to watch the sun rise. She died three years ago, and I've been keeping up the tradition to honor her." Well, don't I feel like a bitch and a half? Part of me must have shown the regret, because he shrugged and said, "We lose our loved ones, but life goes on."

I could go two ways with this. I could say something all wise and shit and ruin the image I'm trying to create, or go completely off topic and hopefully distract him. Mental coin flip says tails, distract him. "So, who did the Pansy Trouts vote off last night?" Again with the eyebrow. Seriously, I'm going to shave it off one night when he's sleeping. "Was that for the nickname or the topic?" I asked, pointing at his face.

He thought and said, "Both, probably. But I'll go along with it. I think it might have been Ezekiel, but it could just as easily have been Courtney or DJ. They were the only ones to not jump." Logic, thy name is Trent. Fucking logic. "We'll find out later, though, once the teams wake up." He played a few random chords before saying, "You're a good singer, Flare. Almost like you know what you're talking about. Any secret crushes I should know about?"

He said it in a joking manner, but I still narrowed my eyes at him. "Was that an indirect way of asking if I'm secretly pining after Juvie Brat like a love struck goober?" He grinned at me and leaned away to fend off my hit. "No, I have no crushes you need to worry about." At least, not here at camp. "What about you, Elvis? Anyone special for you? And don't say no, because I've seen the way you make googly eyes at Gwen."

Ha, Trent looks like he's trying not to fart. His face was screwed up into something that looked half sheepish, half defiant. "I don't know what you're talking about." I just gave him one of my _'don't give me that bullshit'_ looks and he melted with a silly grin. "Yeah, she is pretty great, isn't she? I wouldn't mind talking to her a bit more to find out more about her."

By this point, the sky had lightened up into a rosy color. The sun should be spilling over into the sky any second now. For a second, I pondered on how reversed it was. I never woke up earlier than needed. I've never seen the sunrise, only sunsets. It felt weird to watch the sky go from dark blue to lavender to rose instead of rose to lavender to dark blue. Turning away from the delightfully pretty scene, I clapped my hands together and beamed at him. "Well then, that's your goal for the day, isn't it? Interest Gwenny-dear enough to make her want to talk to you." He made a face that had me laughing. "Don't even ask, I come up with nicknames for everyone." He nodded and I leaped to my feet. "Not that this isn't riveting, but I'm gonna go back to sleep. Enjoy your dawn thing!" He didn't answer as I turned and walked away from the pier. Instead he began to play another Three Days Grace song.

_"This world will never be_  
_what I expected._  
_And if I don't belong,_  
_who would have guessed it?"_

Talented little bugger, ain't he? I'll miss him when one of us is voted off. I have no delusions about me winning. By the time teams are eliminated, I'll have made too many enemies to last long. Heather will most likely see me as a threat. Once I'm not needed, she'll convince others to get rid of me. Not that Juvie Brat or Courtney will need convincing, but still, my point is proven!

"You're up early." The drawl made me jump, but I recognized Noah before I went for my pocket knife again. The scholar was leaning against a tree lazily, flipping through a book. Snorting at him, I bit my thumb in his direction, knowing he'd pick up the nonverbal reference. He rolled his eyes and said, "Very mature. Do you even know what that means?" Thumb go down, middle finger go up. I caught his smirk before his face went back to bored. "'Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?'"

Noah doubts me. Time to make bite-sized scholar eat his words! "'Not at you, sir, but I do bite my thumb.'**[2]** Don't mess with me, Noah. I can do far worse to you than you can imagine." His turn to snort. And that was the end of our transaction. He went back to reading and I continued on my way. Still, I think I managed to gain a bit of respect from him. When I got back to camp, I almost groaned out loud. Yet another person was there to prevent me from napping, and it was one of the most unexpected people ever. "What can I do for you, Heather?"

The queen bee was sitting on the steps, apparently waiting for me to return. She looked as tired as I felt, with dark circles under her eyes, but her narrowed eyes were hard with determination. She stood as I approached, then seemed to regret showing such respect. "I have a proposition for you, Flare." Those words caused me to pause and look at her with new found curiosity. There goes my nap. "You said yesterday that we could do great things together. You said that I was the only person you could trust to be strong, to not give in to weakness." I nodded slowly, not saying anything. "I'm returning the favor by asking you to join me. I have a plan to get me and three others to the final four, and you're one of the ones I've chosen."

Interesting. "You're suggesting an alliance." It wasn't a question. She nodded, and we measured each other for a few silent minutes. "Give me until the next challenge to decide. This thing that you're suggesting is on a grand scale here, Heather. Out of 23 contestants, you expect me to believe you can take all four of us without anyone voting us off? That's a big risk, and I'm not sure how willing I'd be to take it."

She nodded. "Until the next challenge, then. But I warn you, Flare," she leaned forward threateningly, "if you aren't with me, you're against me. And those against me usually don't last very long." Then she left to go do whatever it is that evil witches do after trying their damned hardest to intimidate someone and failing miserably. I snorted to myself at that thought. Did she really think that pathetic display would scare me? I was ready to beat down Juvie Brat on day one. What the hell makes her think that threatening words would make me a coward?

Still, though, it might be better if she thought she was holding the reins. I'll need to tell Leshawna and Gwen so they don't think I'm a traitor. That side-thought brought on a barrage of different thoughts, of feelings and memories that I had to sort through. Were allies and friends the same thing? I didn't think so. An alliance was just two sides working together to work towards a single goal. You didn't have to like the other side to have an alliance, but being friends with someone you hate would be difficult. Would I be able to stay friends with Gwen and Leshawna while having an alliance with Heather? I'd have to work to make them understand, but it might be worth it. So I think that, yes, I'd be able to speak with all three of them.

Instead of climbing on to the roof, I plopped myself where Heather had been sitting and took out my pocket knife. The blade clicked in and out of the handle with every flick of my wrist. The shine of it made me smile; I kept as good a care of my weapon as Trent did his guitar. Now I had to think. Who would the other two people be? I knew Heather, or at the very least Heather's type. She'd need people who were easy to manipulate, either by fear or tricky words. Maybe Cody? All Heather would have to do is lean over a bit and he'd happily let any bears in the area eat him. But no, he has his heart set on Gwen.

So who else? I've seen the popular cliques in school. The chicks tended to draw together, whether they realized it or not. So Heather would probably feel most comfortable with Lindsey. The blond was dumb enough to do whatever she was told without complaint. So yes, Lindsay would probably be chosen as an alliance member. That left one spot open.

What would I do if I were orchestrating an alliance? Breach as many walls as I could. A male would be best, so that we could get extra votes when ever they were needed. But the only guy on our team that could be persuasive enough to convince the others is Trent, and he wouldn't vote with Heather just because I asked him to. He'd want a reason, and I doubt 'because Heather said so' would fly. In fact, if I used that as an excuse, I bet it would take a flying leap off that stupid cliff from yesterday, become a fireball from the friction against the air, and then splat on the ground because the fire around it had been so hot that it evaporated all of the water before it could put it out. That's the painful way for the excuse to die, so I'd better save it's sorry ass and not use it.

So into my imaginary splattered excuse was I that I nearly missed movement from the opposite cabin. Eva emerged from the female side, already alert and fiddling with her mp3 player. She paused when she saw me watching. We stared at each other awkwardly at first before she came over. "Hey runt. Want me to wake up DJ?"

I had a hell of a time not wincing at being called runt. I know I'm short, no need to rub it in! "No, I'm good. Thanks though! You going running?" She nodded. "Do me a favor and avoid the dock. Trent is there with his guitar, and he needs to think a few things over." She nodded and took off in the opposite direction of Trent. "Thanks Eva!" No response. Either she ignored me or she already put her music in.

About 20 more flicks of the blade later, another person came out. This one came from the male side of the Killer Bass Cabin. It was with surprise that I watched Juvie Brat stumble out into the sunlight, blinking sleep from his eyes. I don't think it worked quite as well as he'd hoped, because he walked right past me without so much as a side-glance and in the direction of the showers.

If I wanted to talk to DJ without an argument, now would be the time to get him. But that choice went against everything my instincts were telling me. All I had inside of me, from my brain to my heart to my spleen, was telling me that now was the time to prank. Not that my spleen got a say in it, I just thought it was a funny word. Who decides what our innards are called, anyway? Who discovered what the spleen or liver did, pointed at them, and said, "I name that the blah"? Maybe I want to name my kidneys Frank and Bill, who could really tell me otherwise?

I thought about my current thought process and quickly shook my head. Maybe I should go grab an extra hour of sleep. DJ would still be around when I wake up and think normally, right? And what's the point of humiliating Juvie Brat when no one else is around to laugh at him? It would just be us two, and we'd probably kill each other before we were stopped. Probably best to avoid provoking an argument until later. Let sleeping dogs lie and all that. Honestly, I thought a sleeping Flare sounded a lot better.

Just as I reached that conclusion, one of my teammates came from the male side. I don't know why I did what I did next. Just because I decided against angering Juvie Brat for now doesn't mean I can't creep out my team. Glaring down at my abdominal area, I growled, "Don't you dare start up today, Jill. I have enough problems without asking McClain to get me pads." The steps that were coming toward me stopped suddenly, and I inwardly gave a Cheshire Cat grin. My stomach chose that moment to growl at me. I instinctively pressed a hand against it and said, "Don't growl at me, Harry. I know going without food the entire day yesterday was a bad idea." It growled again, and I growled back, "Don't make me come in there to shut you up!" It growled a third time, and I snapped, "It's not my fault I'm stupid! You can blame Jackson for that!" And I tapped my head for emphasis.

A quiet cough made me look at Cody, staring at me while looking quite weirded out. I almost laughed out loud. It seemed the spirits that be have chosen Cody to be the main target of my creeper moments. "Um, are you okay Flare? You seem to be... uh... talking to your organs?" He said it with such an innocently confused voice that I had to physically stifle a giggle. "It also seems to me that you... _named_ them?"

This time the giggle escaped, and I coughed to make it seem nervous. "Why, Cody, I have no idea what you're talking about! Maybe I'll mention that to the doctors doing the autop- I mean your parents when they pick you up." He took a step back before my stomach growled yet _again_, and I slapped my belly lightly and muttered, "Shut _up_ Harry!"

The curiosity and fear that had been showing on his face gave way to concern. The change was so unexpected that I abandoned my game to blink. "Maybe you should eat today, Flare. Maybe Chef only made that disgusting stuff yesterday because we were on camera. He can't really be trying to give us all food poisoning, could he?" I couldn't tell if he was trying to convince me or himself. "Come on, we can see if the cafeteria is open! We'll have some scrambled eggs and toast, maybe some sausage."

I waved my hand and said, "You go ahead. I don't eat breakfast anyway. If the food today is edible, you can tell me. If not, I'll find a river or stream somewhere and catch some fish. Until then," I stood and stretched, my tank top riding up to show my naval and the sun tattoo surrounding it, "I'm going back to sleep. Send someone to wake me at noon if I haven't shown up by then." He nodded and watched as I jumped over the banister and climbed up my tree. "And yes, I'm sleeping on the roof."

Out of sight, I heard him give a squeaky laugh before his footsteps receded. Safe from prying eyes, I crawled to a corner of the roof and curled up into a ball. A small bit of homesickness hit me. If I'd been home, Ember and Ash would be beside me. They were the ones who got me into the habit of sleeping in the open. The fourth of my group could never see the appeal. I passed into sleep then, and my dreams were filled with happy green eyes and a beautiful smile.

It felt like only a minute later when voices woke me up. Grumbling violently to myself, I pulled my knees tightly to my chest and tried to go to sleep. The crackling of bark and leaves pervaded my efforts. More talking turned into yelling, and the yelling turned into a high-pitched shriek when there was a crack followed by a hard thud. By this time, I could recognize the voices as Leshawna and Cody.

Leshawna's voice was annoyed. "I told you not to put your foot there, didn't I?" She was answered with a short grunt of pain. "And I can't go up there, on account of mama's big tush. Yo Flare! Time to get up hon!" Time to shut the hell up and let me go back to sleep, _hon_. "You told the lil' white boy to wake you at noon, didn't you? It's past twelve now!"

Looks like my nap time is over. I uncurled myself from my ball with a sigh and crawled on all fours to peek over the edge, snorting at what I saw. Cody was just sitting up, his hand rubbing his bottom with a pained look on his face. Leshawna was looking up at me with her arms crossed. "For future reference, " I growled, "just get DJ to climb up. He's used to getting up trees in order to find me." She looked ready to comment when I held my hand up and scoffed. "No, wait, let me guess. You did ask him, but he's become afraid of leaves in the past six months. Why not, he's afraid of everything else."

The two on the ground shared a look at my comment before Cody pushed himself all the way up. "Right... Well, anyway, Trent was looking for you. Something about a song he decided to write." He shrugged once before turning his head slightly and scoffing. "Typical. Man brings a guitar and every women he speaks to wants him." He walked away, and his voice floated back to us as he continued to speak to himself. "No, I won't give up! I will win Gwen's heart!"

Cody's voice faded with Leshawna and me looking after him. Leshawna put her fists on her hips and said, "Huh. Last time I saw a man that depressed, his truck engine died and he had to scrap it." I sighed before pushing myself over the edge and grabbing hold of a branch. I let my momentum carry me back and forth until my swinging stopped before dropping to the ground in a crouch. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her hips to the side. "Don't your hands get all messed up doing that without gloves?"

You have no idea. I could feel my hands throbbing already, so I casually placed them in my pockets and snorted. "Only if you're a dumb-ass. I'm the exact opposite. I'm such a smart-ass that I might as well be labeled brilliant." She laughed a small bit. "Do you know where Trent went? Cody never said anything before he started talking about how nonexistent his love life is." Of course, if he'd stop being so pathetic with his flirting, that might change.

The large woman waved her hand in the general direction of the cafeteria. "Last I saw, he was headed in the direction of the cafeteria. Everyone should still be there, we only just had lunch before coming to find you." She made a disgusted face and stuck out her tongue. "Sloppy Joe that was more sloppy than joe. I hope you don't plan on starving yourself until they serve us some real food."

Unfortunately, that was exactly what I was planning on doing. Looks like that survival training Uncle Pike made me go through will actually come in handy. "Remind me to remind DJ to remind me to thank our uncle next family reunion." I said lightly. Internally laughing at her confused face, I began to make my way toward the food area. I didn't hear footsteps following me, so I assumed I was on my own. Good, that means I can think.

Why would Trent be searching for me? He knows we'll be seeing each other later. What couldn't wait for me to come find him? Cody said something about a song. Maybe he decided how he was going to woo Gwen? Good for him, but he shouldn't want or need my help. Wasn't it a male pride thing to never accept help from a woman? That's what Ash and _he_ always said, anyway. Then again, they are always competing with each other.

Raised voices brought a frown to my face. I was still quite a bit away from the Mess Hall. Either the others were outside or people are loud. And unless I've been sleep-walking, someone has been doing my job of pissing people off. How dare they? I'm going to have to hurt someone now.

By the time the building came into view, worry was overriding my sarcastic violent side. No one was here to greet me. The yelling was definitely coming from inside. Even more startling was the fact that the voices sounded mysteriously like a certain Elvis-haired musician and cousin of mine. Now I've heard DJ yell before, but mostly in fear. The anger I heard in his tone made me wonder just what Trent was saying to cause such a reaction from my normally peaceable kin.

I hadn't realized my feet had stopped moving before a sudden howl propelled me forward. The doors swung open in time for me to catch a stumbling Trent, holding his face. DJ stood about two yards behind him, being held back by both Juvie Brat and Geoff. I was so surprised and shocked at the turn of events that I overlooked how strange the reversed position of usually snarling Duncan holding back the usually cowardly DJ was.

Trent turned to face DJ without even a word to me, and crouched down as if to lunge. The moment I saw the tell in his muscles, I grabbed the back of his shirt. Feet went forward, head came back, and gravity did the rest. Poor Trent, it must really have a grudge against him or something. The air rushed out of him in a _whoosh_ when his chest hit the floor. He began to get up, but I placed a food on his chest, pointed at him, and said in a commanding voice, "Stay."

No nod, no grunt, no nothing. The only thing he did was fall back and lay there. Good boy, I'll get Gwen to give you a treat later. Now I just had to take care of DJ. Standing half-way between Elvis and Cousin, I flicked my hand side to side to signal releasing him. Both boys did so quickly, Juvie Brat looking slightly annoyed at me giving him an order. He probably only did what I said because he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the behemoth by himself.

DJ was probably seeing red with how angry he seemed. He wouldn't know who he was fighting. The moment his arms were released, he shot forward and cannoned into me. I let myself fall with the hit and jammed my knee into his chest, using my other foot to push him up into the air. The combined force of my knee and foot, along with his own momentum, actually caused him to sail over my body. As quickly as I could, I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pivoted- rather painfully, mind you!- on my shoulder and flipped us so that he was slammed into the ground.

The jock lay stunned for a bit, his eyes squeezed shut. My guess was he was waiting for the bells to stop ringing. Fine with me, I'll just wait on his chest until he's stable again. It didn't take long before he blinked his beady little eyes and looked at me in confusion. "Flare? Why are you pinning me to the ground?" He looked behind me and saw Trent, lying on the ground behind me. His eyes widened in shock. "Uh oh. Did I do that?"

Well, at least he's back to the normal, cowardly, squeaky, terrified at confrontation boy I knew. I got off of him, leaving it to his teammates to pick him up. "Yes, DJ, you did. And if you had pummeled anyone besides my friend, I'd no doubt be proud of you. However, since it is Trent currently lying motionless on the floor, it begs me to ask the question... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

He squeaked and dove behind Juvie Brat, who looked _very_ annoyed at being used as a meat shield. Ha, as if I'd actually mind punching his pierced nose into his rain. "He started it! He came in here, asking if anyone had seen you. When we all said no, he started freaking out and saying we needed to search for you and I said that you're probably still asleep and you'll be fine and he said that I didn't care and that I was just trying to give my team the advantage and then I said-"

For lack of anything else nearby, I took my shoe and threw it at him. "DJ, breathe!" I demanded as he gasped. He'd said all of that in one breath. Any other time, I'd be impressed. Since he's trying to explain something relatively important, I think it'd be better if he didn't pass out when he was done. When he got his breath back, I said, "Here's what I got: Trent came in here, looking for me." He nodded. "Everyone here said no." He nodded again. "Trent wanted to look for me and, under assumption, tried to get you guys to look as well. You, DJ, disagreed." Another nod. "I still don't see how a fist fight could come from this."

It wasn't DJ who answered me. "Maybe if you hadn't interrupted him, you would have heard the rest of it." Juvie Brat growled. He stood with arms crossed and a glare fixed on me, but he made no movement to step away from DJ. This intrigued me. It wasn't because I thought I could beat him without being touched. Contrary to what I had convinced my team to believe, I didn't think I was going to get out of our inevitable fight unscathed. All the people I know who'd been to Juvenile Hall would leave any coward to defend himself.

However, that was a contemplation for another time. For now, I just scowled at him. "He was starting to turn blue from the lack of air!" The last time I'd seen someone that shade was when Ember had dressed her baby brother as a smurf for Halloween. Don't get me wrong, it was one of the most adorable things I'd ever seen, but that shade should never be natural! "And besides, I didn't ask for your input!"

He snorted before retorting, "You're getting it anyway! Besides, it's your teammate's fault." My eyes narrowed, prompting a condescending laugh from him. "Oh, now you want the full story? Too bad, you're not getting it from us. Now take your team and leave."

I felt my mouth drop open. The nerve of that arrogant, narcissistic prick! He has no right to kick anyone out of anywhere! I had half a mind to tell him that! Wait, half a mind? I'm going to tell him! "Why don't you try to make me, you arrogant narcissistic-"

Hands clamped over my wrists and dragged me off balance to be dragged away towards the door. I looked up to see Leshawna- when did she get here? - and Owen each gripping me. The blond boy had Trent thrown sloppily over one shoulder. Leshawna gave me a knowing glare. "Just do what he says. You can kick his juvenile patoot on air, when the whole world can see it."

I paused to ponder this before a large smile overtook my face and I nodded happily. The two largest members of the Screaming Gophers let me go and I stood, ready to follow them like an obediant woman. Then Juvie stopped me by saying, "Oi, Flare!" And like the twit I am, I turned to see what was oh-so-important that he had to stop me from doing what he wanted just in time to have my own shoe flung at my face. "Forgot this." he said with a cocky grin.

The man-eating sharks would have cowered at the enraged yell I gave.

Six hours later and I still hadn't calmed down from the afternoon's encounter. I realize that that is indeed a long time to remain angry over a single event, but I hold grudges well! I hadn't stopped ranting since I'd dragged my teammate out here. "And his mother was a hamster and his father smelt of elder berries!" I finished with the famous Monty Python quote**[3]. **Gotta love Monty Python, even when furious.

The raven-haired teenager looked rather bored, lounging against a tree while checking her nails. "Are you done yet?" she asked bluntly. Feh, could have left at any time you dolt. Far be it from me to knock you unconscious, tie you to a tree and wait for you to wake up to continue my rant. "Good. Now why the hell did you drag me out here?"

I stopped my pacing in fron to fher and tried to look the most serious I have been since we got here yesterday. "Isn't isn't just a competition for me anymore. I don't care if I win or lose this whole thing. All that matters is bringing Juvie Brat down. The longer I stay here, the more chance I have of doing that." I stood as tall as I could without looking ridiculous and tilting my chin proudly. "Heather, I accept your proposal of an alliance."

As I saw her lips curl into a satisfied smile, a feeling like that of doomsday came over me. Why do I feel like I just did the stupidest thing ever?

* * *

**[1]**: Konoha- also known as Village Hidden in the Leaves. From Naruto, which I don't own!

**[2]**: _Romeo and Juliet_, by William Shakespeare. Act one, scene one. Biting your thumb at someone, in Shakespearian time, basically meant flipping them all. This line is basically going, "No, I'm not flipping you off, I'm just holding up my middle finger in your direction." Don't own.

**[3]**: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Seriously, gotta love that line. Don't own anything.


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